Although life may take you through its many different paths, with lots of turnarounds, unpredictable ends and surely unexpected new beginnings, everyone has a background. Architecture is mine. Having finished the studies in Barcelona, and despite a short trajectory as an architect, it still influences me in important measure my way of looking at the world. The responsible functionality, the directional principles that can vertebrate a project from its birth, and that can still be found in the finishing details… permanency vs. ephemeral, and the challenge that can be the visualization of spaces, translating emotional pulses into the limits of reality.
Here’s a small summary of the projects I enjoyed the most during university; because of the research they involved, their development, or because of the thinking they brought once finalized.
PFC Residence for elderly
2012. The career final project (or thesis) departs from a series of studies of the city of Barcelona and its services and transport connections. A program consisting on a residence+housing+equipment for elders is established as a real need for the chosen neighborhood.
The approximation to the comfort is done taking into account accessibility, elder movements, necessities, and a good space organisation and connection. Service spaces and spaces served are separated properly and well connected at the same time.
Rooms are made for individuals, old but alive, and so, that enjoy small pleasures as reading, drawing, taking care of the garden, and relating emotionally to other people.
Aerospatial research center
2010. The interest of this project was to work with a complex and unusual program. The huge warehouse spaces were combined with the researchers offices in a natural isolated space among the fields.
On this extract I’ve summarised the process by means of the models. The research done with model material, the abstract work and the imagination of spaces by means of the combined colour/properties of the materials provides us a completely new, fresh and untethered way of approaching the project design.
Wanfotang housing
2009. Inside one of the valleys surrounding the east geography of Beijing a village is searching for a growth and an increasing population.
Working in a group of three students, we project a new activity based on medicinal plants and mountain path excursions to reactivate a growing (but controlled) tourism. We draw a masterplan with new walking paths and we implant a therapeutical center, for studying plants and taking care of visitors health. Besides, we study a possible new growth for the old town, a housing project which is shown below.
The segmentation of the typically central yard on historical chinese houses, and it’s relation to the exterior-public space, was the main subject around the project. Turning towards the town, the neighbour, and nature. On the other hand, simple structures designing up to 6 typographies were proposed to adapt to different families’ configuration and to be easily built upon scarce resources.
Investigation center
2008. The project begins with an experimentation progress, from rational steps to abstract diagrams representing our conceptions for the research center we were building in the 19ème arrondissement de Paris.
The course was centered on the evolution of our first rational progression mixed with our “abstract research”, to finally end up with a complex object embedded in the suburbs and integrated with the industrial area suroundings.
For me it’s interesting the approach by steps and models, each of them leading to inspiring ideas and interesting debates to take into account when projecting, so we don’t forget what we expect of each architectural project; it’s principles and functionalities.
Urban Composition
2006. The experimentation with materials: consistency, shape variations, permeability, linearity, liberty out of order or hazardous regularity…
On these essays there’s a will of relating objects to their environment, of seeing until which point urban acts are independent or/and bounded to the circumstancial causes.
Remodelation of a square
2006. Universitat’s Square is located in the city center of Barcelona, near Catalunya Square, and in an important crossroad point, also being the articulation between two different urban plans as l’Eixample and Ciutat Vella. The perfection of the new grid encounters the old St. Antoni streets.
The square today gathers different activities, but the fact that it’s surrounded by big avenues isolates it and makes uncomfortable to stay on it. The remodelation proposes an urban piece integrated in the space and making a barrier with the cars affluence.
Birds Observatory
2005. The project consists on developing a type of architecture that could be embedded in the ecosystem of a delta, allowing to observe the birds with a minimal impact over them.
It’s proposed a quick, dry and non residual construction made of wood, which uses the same kind of piece for all the project, only variating the thickness and the point of assembly with the others. It allows prefabrication and a minimum time of construction in place. The pieces themselves are the stairs to move inside. The roof permits collecting the rain water.
