The workshop brought together international experts and students to explore sustainable solutions for overarching topics such as climate change, the use of energy and resources and their local and global implications.

Energy problems are multidisciplinary in nature, spanning science, engineering, design and the social sciences. The aim of the Workshop was to rethink, from an energy and environmental point of view, the recovery of land invaded by the lava flow caused by the explosion of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma—an event that affected the territories of three municipalities: Los Llanos de Aridane, El Paso and Tazacorte.

Mentors of the Workshop Iñaki Ábalos and Renata Sentkiewicz, Co-founders and Co-directors, Ábalos+Sentkiewicz, stated that the main objective is to bring together the energetic, social, economic, ecological, and environmental aspects in a positive way by means of an approach based on specific proposals, composing an ecosystem whose objective were both to restore vitality to the municipalities and promote new resources and effective self-sufficiency.

The Norman Foster Foundation awarded ten scholarships to students from diverse backgrounds in architecture, urbanism, design, arts and humanities, social sciences, engineering, and environmental studies. Scholars engaged with an interdisciplinary Academic Body formed by mentors ranging from industry professionals to academics. 

The Workshop’s Academic Body brought together a wide range of academics, researchers and practitioners from different fields related to energy. The Academic Body included: Iñaki Ábalos and Renata Sentkiewicz, Co-founders and Co-directors, Ábalos+Sentkiewicz, Madrid, Spain; Salmaan Craig, Assistant Professor of Energy and Materials, Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, McGill University, Motreal, QC, Canada; Joshua S. Goldstein, Professor Emeritus of International Relations, American University; Research Scholar, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States; Marja Lundgren, Environmental Specialist & Development Manager, White Arkitekter, Stockholm, Sweden; Ali Malkawi, Founding Director and Professor of Architectural Technology, Center for Green Buildings and Cities, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States; Lluís Ortega, Professor of Architectural Projects, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain; Christoph Reinhart, Director, Building Technology Program, Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, United States; Hashim Sarkis, Dean, School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, United States and Victor Viña, Associate Professor of Communications Design, School of Design, Pratt Institute, New York, NY, United States.

After reviewing hundreds of applications submitted by candidates from around the world, the selection committee awarded ten scholarships to students from the following universities and institutions: University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom; University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, United States; Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), Barcelona, Spain; Graduate School of Design (GSD), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States; Tongji University, Shanghai, China; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany; Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom.