In times of change, where architects must adapt differently to the patterns and systems of understanding the environment, changing the was we had lived and learned previously, it is essential that we see in a new light this spaces of coexistence: the city, the house and the environment; with a look of rehabilitation, reuse, reflection, rational use of resources, proximity of materials and authenticity by means of making architecture tailored to people, closer, more human, more sensitive and as a tool for transforming and creating gentler spaces. This idea could be captured under the term of Soft Architecture. 

What do I mean with Soft Architecture? An architecture designed on a human scale, delicate with the environment, soft fitting. The term “soft” can also be referred to the metaphorical use of soft materials: we are speaking about light, water, vegetation, air and sounds as sensitive work materials to shape and transform the spaces. An architecture, thoughtful to the vital program, sincere with the materials used, with dignified aging and respectful of the environment.

Certainly, good architecture does not need ingenious adjectives or pompous words, but within the current chaotic architectural landscape I think it is good and necessary to position oneself.

​Someone might wonder what materials like fair-faced concrete, which I use often, have to do with this Soft speech! It has to do with the treatment of the surface, its texture and its plasticity. I do not intend to make velvet architecture, but an architecture with visual and tactile sensations, harmonious with the environment that create an experience for the senses.

We seek a coherent architecture that resembles a tree that grows organically whilst maintaining a close relationship between its structure, its form and its energy; this is the result of an adequate structure, a “skin” in relationship with the environment, alongside a coherent construction that respects the distinct characteristics of the location. We don’t make the design and then apply the structure, the design is not and should not be an absolute whim of the architect, the design is intrinsic to the structural and tectonic qualities of the building. It could be understood as a living being created by man, in a forced evolution, applying our current technology, and that it should not consume more than it produces nor should it contaminate, and should return, with its deconstruction, materials or waste that could be used in society.

We want to build in 6-12 months a building that should last an average of 100 years. Perhaps it is very profitable ... in the short term, but not in the medium or long term. Funding really squeezes, interest eats us up and each day passes by like a slab, but mistakes are paid dearly with improvisation. All of this could seem obvious, but many current architectures seem to have forgotten some of the basic principles in pursuit of appearance, fame, petulance or enchantment.

Currently, rehabilitation is an important part of our work - finding new uses for old buildings, spaces that can be suitable again with new technologies, adapting buildings to new requirements and regulations, rehabilitate homes, turn old warehouses into offices, etc.-, we rehabilitate to innovate without forgetting the traces of the past.

​

Architecture at the service of man. Concisely, an image, a conception, from a vision closer to people and less absorbed with the architect. If you think something similar, if you want a thoughtful, artisan, imaginative and sincere architecture… it is what we try to develop everyday and it is the only thing we know by heart and want to do. Our architecture office has an absolute vocation in the rehabilitation field -both in construction and public space-, as well as for the private residential field and for the urban planning field. We have worked on designs as diverse as a sports facility in Montjuic, a hotel/spa in Maresme, an Orthodox church or, together with a company, a major sports complex in North Africa.

The experience of having worked with the Barcelona City Council for 15 years as an architect, carrying out projects of public spaces in districts such as Sant Andreu, Sant Martí or Gracia -in the latter, as project manager and in Esports (IBE) being technical manager of the facilities sports activities in the city of Barcelona-, have allowed me to understand and investigate inside the public field, getting involve hand in hand with more than a hundred projects from the years prior to the Olympics-1988 to 2003-. Nowadays, given leave on personal grounds, I am absent from the exercise public due to an important private commission since 2003.

Since 1996, our own office has carried out more than 130 rehabilitation projects, new constructions and urban planning, being our main client the private one.

I have been teaching at the ETSAB (Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona) for 22 years now, at the UPC (Univeristat Politècnica de Catalunya) since 1991, I am a member of the PFC Courts and I have also been a part of the Doctorate Courts in Fine Arts. I taught for 4 years at Elisava. I’ve always been in contact with the latest trends and the spirit of new generations. The doctoral thesis that I wrote "Ephemeral Architecture, the ephemeral components of architecture" was the 2nd most consulted thesis in the UPC network for two consecutive years.​

Some of my projects were selected at the FAD and the Plaza Anna Frank Project was awarded by the Década Price. I count on office projects in rehabilitated spaces since the historic EMI in 1984-89 -published in "Quaderns 50 anys de arquitectura Catalana"- and on developments in the Maresme -such as "La Indiana" in Caldes d'Estrac, where groups of Homes were adapted to the shape of the land and their common spaces were accessible via ramps, configuring one of the most emblematic urbanizations in Maresme-. I count on more modest interventions such as the renovations for the company FAUS S.A, reusing warehouses in the expansion area for its new offices, or Verdi or Lluçanes homes where innovation and respect for stocks goes hand in hand.

Barcelona 2020