Civil engineering in the overall context of public works is closely associated with territory, meeting needs in areas such as transport, water management, energy or shelter. It can only be understood from the perspective of dialogue with nature, a paradigm that constitutes its raison d'être.

The course was conceived as a platform for reflection on and in-depth study of the role of public works as configuration elements of the cultural landscape, in particular their contribution to its construction process. Studied as heritage assets with a recognisable structural purpose and identity, public works were seen as mediators in a new and constantly changing meaning. The significance and topicality of the subject was corroborated by in the conclusions of the 1st Workshop on Civil Engineering Heritage and the Landscape held at the University of Cantabria on 1 March 2013, which inspire the course.

The objectives included the exchange of ideas and experiences on: how to delimit the landscape and understand engineering from that perspective; the identification and interpretation of the engineering landscape; the multidisciplinary approach to the public works landscape; and the furtherance of a knowledgeable perception of the built landscape. The course combined lectures with master classes, debates, workshops and field work. The participants were professionals and students from different disciplines engaging in the study of the landscape and public works.

After a stopover to view Alloz Dam and Torroja's spectacular aqueduct, participants examined the bridges at Puente la Reina. In the city of Pamplona they explored the facilities installed in its river park, visiting the Zizur bridge-square on their way to Vitoria. In the latter city's Salburúa interpretation centre, they met with Luis Orive, Head of the Centre of Environmental Studies and his outstanding team, who described the works for the city's green belt. That was followed by a visit to the latest components of the Vitoria Green Capital project.

At Bilbao participants concurred with Madrid School of Engineering students working toward a degree in Civil and Territorial Engineering, on a field trip with their History, Art and Aesthetics professors. On the outbound trip these students had visited Burgos Cathedral and Frías, a Medieval village, and its bridges.

Then everyone attended a lecture on the Ría 2000 Bilbao Transformation project and the Zorrotzaurre Plan delivered by Pablo Otaola, Head of the Zorrotzaurre Management Commission, who subsequently led a guided bus tour through the city, followed by a boat trip along the estuary to Santurce to view its bridges and footbridges as well as the distinctive buildings along its banks. The tour ended with a visit to the Port of Bilbao and its enlargement. IDOM's new corporate headquarters were the venue for a talk on the new south highway, after which participants took a guided tour of the works for the new San Mamés Football Stadium and visited the Guggenheim Museum.

This field trip was organised in the context of research on the lighthouses along the Valencian coast conducted in conjunction with the university's Demetrio Rives Chair. The journey was designed as if charting a course, with participants observing and taking notes on the landscape and using the shape of the coast and the materials, colours and physiography of the terrain as key references. Drawings and photographs of the coast were used to facilitate recognition: the shape of the mountain ranges visible from the sea (Sierra de Irta, Massís del Montgó, Punta Albir, Peñón de Ifach…); their ancient towers (Torre del Cherro, Torre del Descubridor…); the modern, primarily tourist, residential towers (at Benidorm, Alicante, Calpe...); and of course the lighthouses (San Antonio, Nao, Punta Albir, Huertas, Santa Pola, Tabarca) and port buoys.