Belinda López Mesa

© Photograph by Luis Areñas

Dr. Belinda López-Mesa is Full Professor of Architectural Construction at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), where she leads the Built4Life Lab as principal investigator and coordinates the research line tech-inHabitāre.

She graduated as an Architect from the University of Seville in 2000 (Spain), completing part of her studies at the École d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville (France) through an Erasmus exchange. She earned a Licentiate in Engineering (Lic.Eng.) in 2003 and her PhD from Luleå University of Technology (Sweden) in 2004, enriching her doctoral training with research courses at international institutions such as the State University of New York (USA), the University of Navarra (Spain), and the Technical University of Denmark (Denmark).

She has held academic positions at three public European universities: Luleå University of Technology (Sweden, 2000–2004), Universitat Jaume I (Spain, 2004–2010), and the University of Zaragoza (Spain, since 2010). She undertook predoctoral research stays at the Manchester Institute of Science (UK) and Universitat Jaume I (Spain), as well as a postdoctoral stay at the Indian Institute of Science (India).

Research focus: Her research explores the intersection of architecture, technical dwelling, and nature, seeking to rethink how architecture and the built environment can nurture new modes of inhabiting the world. She is particularly interested in post-extractive approaches to architecture that move beyond resource-intensive models and open up possibilities for circular design, energy awareness, and the renovation of existing buildings. Her recent work also investigates how digital tools can act as catalysts for sustainability, not only as technical instruments but as mediators of broader cultural change towards more attentive and symbiotic ways of living.