MOVING BOUNDARIES IBERIA RETREAT AND SUMMIT IN NEUROARCHITECTURE PRACTICE/EDUCATION   April 2-8, 2027

The 9th Edition of the Moving Boundaries Certificate Course in Neuroscience, Environmental Psychology and Architecture features a new retreat and summit format in beautiful Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain and rural Amares, Portugal, with presentations by faculty and participants, discussions, workshops, communal meals, morning walks and exercise, yoga, massage and spa, sound meditation, social activities, arts and craft activities honoring local building, weaving and jewelry crafts, day trips and tours. Together we will visit some of the most notable buildings in Galicia, Minho region in northern Portugal, and in the great city of Porto. All participants will receive special insider access to buildings, some of which are usually closed to the general public: works by modern Masters, David Chipperfield, Alvaro Siza Vieira, Carlos Seoane, Eduardo Souto de Moura, and others.  

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Dates: April 2-8, 2027

Spaces are limited (38-40 maximum for this retreat)

Registrations will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis, including choice of hotel rooms. Those who are late to register will be in 'overflow' hotel in Galicia. Sign up soon and submit your deposit to get your first choice of lodging in both locations. 

Deposit: $480 USD needed to register and secure your spot - submit deposit using link at the top of this page  

Remainder of Tuition by January 2027: $1,320 USD in two or three flexible installments or submit in one amount

Tuition covers the full academic program (in person), tours, site visits, welcome dinner, course resources and reader, certificate, virtual meetings before and after the program  (lodging is not included, but the MB group receives a special group discount - affordable stays at all three hotels)

Retreat Locations: Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (Hotels Costa Velha and Altair - booked exclusively for MB)

Santa Maria do Bouro, Amares, Northern Portugal (Pousada/Hotel Amares, restored 15th Century Monastery - booked exclusively for MB)

Free Day on April 5: Travel together from Galicia to Northern Portugal (lunch in gorgeous Viana do Castelo, by the ocean) 

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FACULTY GROUP: Please see below

Supporting Faculty for MB Iberia 2027: Architects Kate Mishchenko and Valentina Fesenko

All participants who are living in the retreat are invited to present a lecture and/or workshop. A formal invitation letter may be issued on MB letterhead, by request, to help you obtain external funding. 

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Activities: Lectures, Masterclasses, Networking Sessions, Small-Group Discussion, Panels and Q&A, Facilitated Workshops, Communal Events, Cultural Immersion in both regions, Craft and Building Workshops (blacksmith/woodworking/jewelry/stone), Music and Poetry, Massage, Spa, Sound Meditation, Morning Exercise, Guided City Walks, Local Cuisine, Welcome Dinner (included in your tuition) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. 

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This MB Iberia 2027 Retreat and Summit will for the first time focus on both Design Practice and Education in NeuroArchitecture and Design Arts. The Faculty is composed of several of the world's most renowned experts in this new and growing field. Also for the first time, this MB Retreat and Summit will be multilingual, with both faculty and participants invited to present in one or more of the following languages: Spanish, Gallego, Portuguese, and/or English. 

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​​​Course Topics include:  Embodiment and Somatic Design; Multisensory Experience and Behaviour, Emotion, Enactivism; Placemaking and Culture: People-Place Dialogues; Materiality and Cognitive Health; Evidence-Based Design at the Interface of the Human Sciences and Architecture. We will have special sessions in Neurodiversity and in all sessions we will develop strategies together for both practice and education.

​New research will be presented by architects, scientists, biologists, sociologists, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, environmental psychologists and health professionals.

The program in Spring 2027 begins on Monday, April 2 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain (lasting 3 days) and continues on April 5 in Amares, Minho region of Portugal, with its famous landscapes and rich history of vernacular architecture alongside outstanding modern architecture and design. All are invited to present work in interactive morning sessions. In the afternoons, you will have a chance to discuss and work in small groups, taking time to reflect on the morning sessions and to collaborate in immersive and embodied learning sessions with colleagues and faculty. The focus in the afternoon sessions will be on developing strategies, tools and applications across disciplines. In addition to our usual activities, we will enjoy poetry readings, sketching sessions, lively debates, walks and film screenings in the evenings. 

Lectures and debates will be augmented with workshops, discussions, a new wellness program including exercise, dance, movement, massage and spa, sound meditation, swimming and walking, and afternoon tours. One field trip early in the course will take us to see beautiful areas in Santiago de Compostela and the wider region of Galicia. A second field trip in Porto will give us an opportunity to experience this magical city, its Ribeira, Foz and Matosinhos districts, as well as architecture built in the last two years. Stay tuned to hear about our surprise guests. You will have inside access to architecture by modern masters, some of which is always closed to the general public - both in Galicia and in Northern Portugal.  

In addition to architecture created by faculty member, Alvaro Siza Vieira, we will experience influential work by Eduardo Souto de Moura, while living together in his award-winning Pousada Amares, the restored Monastery Santa Maria do Bouro. Both architects are winners of the prestigious Pritzker Prize. While we are in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, we will visit several notable works by architect David Chipperfield and award-winning work in Galicia by Alvaro Siza (Art Museum CGAC and the Faculty of Journalism and Media). Moving Boundaries Iberia Retreat 2027 will end on April 8 with a farewell lunch and panel discussions with participants in the gorgeous Pousada (Hotel) Amares courtyard, overlooking the mountains. The luxury Pousada (hotel) includes one of the best restaurants in Portugal, a swimming pool, lounge areas with fireplace and massage services and exercise sessions coordinated by your MB team. Each participant will receive a hand-signed Certificate of Completion and full collection of lecture files, notes, professional photographs, and more. Two virtual meetings before and after the program are included in tuition.

Contact Us: info@movingboundaries.org