The Cabinet Announces Nuria Matarredona Desantes as Director-General of Urban Agenda and Architecture
The Cabinet approved on Tuesday the appointment of Nuria Matarredona Desantes, from Alcoy, to serve as the new Director-General of Urban Agenda and Architecture. The decision came at the recommendation of Raquel Sánchez, the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, with the ministry issuing a formal statement to confirm the appointment.
In her new role, Matarredona Desantes will take over from Iñaqui Carnicero, who was named General Secretary for Urban Agenda and Housing at the end of February. The transition marks a shift in leadership within the office tasked with steering Spain’s urban planning and architectural policy, including strategies for sustainable construction and the modernization of public spaces.
Nuria Matarredona Desantes was born in Alcoy (Alicante) in 1982. She currently serves as Vice-President of the Generalitat Valenciana and leads the Directorate General for Ecological Innovations in Construction within the Ministry of Housing and Architecture. Her career with the Generalitat began in 2019, when she took on the role of head of the Technical Unit of the Educational Infrastructures Regional Service. Since then, she has overseen several high-profile initiatives aimed at making public buildings greener and more energy efficient.
Among the notable projects under her leadership is a Green Guide to Environmental Measures for the supply of ecological public buildings. She has also contributed to the Generalitat Valenciana’s Digitization Strategy for Building Information Modeling (BIM) Sustainability and has participated in the design of a pioneering process for the public procurement of innovation to improve outdoor spaces for existing homes. These efforts reflect a broader push toward sustainable urban development and the integration of digital tools in public works planning, as highlighted by Mitma in its announcement.
Matarredona Desantes holds a Cum Laude doctorate in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. She has received international recognition, including an Honorable Mention, and possesses a Master’s degree in the Conservation of Architectural Heritage. Her doctoral work was awarded the Outstanding Prize in 2018, underscoring her commitment to heritage-aware approaches in contemporary urban design.
Her professional journey includes research visits to several prestigious institutions around the world. These include Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, among others. These experiences have enriched her perspective on global best practices in urban planning, sustainable construction, and historic preservation.
Beyond academia, Matarredona Desantes has participated in numerous national and international research projects and has contributed more than twenty scholarly publications with significant impact. She has also engaged with professional forums and conferences as a speaker, sharing insights on ecological construction, digital design, and innovative procurement for urban projects. Her appointment signals a continuity of a strategy that blends environmental responsibility with cutting-edge digital tools to shape the future of Spain’s urban landscapes.