Fundación Arquia
The ninth edition of the Festival arquia/próxima, organised by the Fundación Arquia, was held in Madrid, where the winning projects of most promising young architects in Spain and Portugal today were announced. This edition was organised under the curatorship of Marina Otero Verzier, who defined the central theme, “DESEO” (DESIRE), as an invitation to mobilise desire as a driving force for change towards eco-social, economic and political transformations. According to Otero, “the selection not only shows that it is possible to channel our desire beyond the outdated dreams of progress, but it also shows that architecture professionals still have work to do”. She also poses the question: How can we channel this force of desire towards more sustainable models?
The response to this approach from these emerging talents revolved around five main themes: new housing paradigms, materialities, the enjoyment of public space and architecture communication. The Festival arquia/próxima was structured around these same five themes, in the format of discussion panels entitled: “Economies of Desire,” “Material Intelligences,” “Affective Dimensions,” “Public Enjoyment” and “Domestic Aspirations,” in which the authors of the selected works and the jury exchanged ideas and perspectives.
The jury awarded two arquia/próxima ex aequo prizes and five arquia/innova ex aequo prizes. The projects awarded the arquia/próxima ex aequo prize are:
–“48 houses in Magaluf” by the Lloc Arquitectes studio, in Mallorca, Spain
–“Eix Verd de Consell de Cent” by Cierto Estudio and BP67 Palomeras Arquitectes, in Barcelona, Spain
The two projects that received the highest award, the arquia/próxima ex aequo, were selected by the jury for their undeniable architectural quality and for demonstrating how collaboration between public administrations and young architects can lead to projects with great social impact. In two different areas, such as collective housing and public space, the teams of creators skilfully manage to make the solutions to current challenges attractive, focusing on people and their well-being through conscious design and meticulous materiality.
The jury also awarded the arquia/innova prize ex aequo to:
–“Blasón Elements for Industrial Recovery” by Burr studio, in Madrid, Spain
–“Casa 0006” by Taller 11, in Vilafranca del Penedès, Barcelona, Spain
–“ELEMENTA” by Parabase, in Basel, Switzerland
–“Everywhere & nowhere” by Pareid Architecture in Madrid, Spain
–“Spa profundo” by La Cuarta Piel, in Alicante, Spain
The jury, composed of curator Marina Otero, together with Daniel Rincón de la Vega, Uriel Fogué, Manuel Clavel, Clara Olóriz, Jaume Mayol, Ricardo Carvalho and Ignacio de Teresa, selected the winners from a total of 1,060 projects, of which 472 were submitted in the last two years. The entries covered a variety of approaches, from built projects to research, urban interventions, ephemeral installations, performances and audiovisual pieces.
About Fundación Arquia
The Fundación Arquia aims to promote and foster cultural, social, welfare, professional and educational aims in relation to architects and other professional sectors. Created in 1990 by Arquia Banca, it stands out for its continuous work and constant concern in the dissemination of architectural culture, with the aim of improving the image of professionals and their work in society, developingvarious cultural programmes, among which the scholarship programmes (professional and research), the audiovisual documentation centre, the biennial
architectural thesis competition, the Festival arquia/próxima, the arquia/social programme and its recognised editorial work.
Discover the winning projects here.
For inquiries: fundacion [at] arquia.es
Press Office Fundación Arquia: press [at] laboh.net
