The Attrition of Automobiles

The 2022 European Prize for Urban Public Space has gone to the disappearance of an urban expressway in Utrecht, Netherlands, … More

Yellow Garden

[Originally published in Bauwelt #16.2022] When Spain imposed its nation-wide lockdown to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on … More

Not in Our Public Space

Public space belongs to everyone. That’s why the latest proposal to expand the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA) … More

One Permanent Exhibition / Theme Park Inside Another

How many architects have an exhibition of their work permanently on display at a cultural institution, replete with nearly full-scale … More

Statistical Error

In 2018, a study was published that situated “Europe’s most densely inhabited square kilometer” in the working-class town of L’Hospitalet … More

Hotel Empanada

This advertisement for a Barcelona snack bar franchise contains an image of a local landmark building by the late Ricardo … More

Public Property

[Originally published in The Architectural Review in April 2022] Before the arrival of steel and concrete, the most widely used … More

Open House

[Originally published in Bauwelt March 2022] Since the emergence of the pandemic, outdoor private space has come to be newly … More

Archaeological Building

[Originally published in Baumeister December 2021] Older buildings are no longer what they used to be. Until recently, the argument … More

Presenting the E-Window®

Are windows really necessary in buildings? Is an LED panel that simulates a window an acceptable substitute? Some seem to … More

The Anti-Circular Pepper Mill Scandal

The other day, I was preparing a dinner party when I realized my pepper mill was empty. I ran to … More

Enric Miralles, 1955-2000

[Originally published in The Architectural Review July-August 2021] It has now been more than 20 years since Enric Miralles died … More

Hide and Seek

[Originally published in The Architectural Review May 2021] One of the first alterations that pupils of the Imagine Montessori Primary … More

Grit and Glam

[Originally published in DETAIL magazine 5.2021] There is no mistaking old from new in this adaptive reuse project by Baas … More

Urbicide Rebellion Slaughterhouse Reno

[Originally published in Bauwelt 8.2021] The adaptive reuse of L’Escorxador del Cabanyal, a former slaughterhouse in Valencia, Spain, as a … More

UNStudio’s Plagiarism of Elastic Living by Angelo Roventa

In the field of research, plagiarism is unacceptable and denounced. Here begins a post denouncing UNStudio’s shameless plagiarism of over … More

Dear Ben van Berkel

Dear Ben, To have a design idea copied by you, a global starchitect with offices all over the world, is … More

Home is Where the Pathologies Are

Here we are, in the ninth month of coronavirus crisis, eagerly awaiting the birth, any day now, of a new … More

Dear Mayor Ada Colau:

Dear Ms Colau, internationally esteemed mayor of Barcelona. I write this letter in English because many citizens of Barcelona are … More

Barcelona, posa’t guarra (get dirty)

Welcome to Carrer Príncep de Viana in the Raval neighbourhood of Barcelona, a small, normally quiet street lined with trees … More

Canadà Park: Barcelona’s Maple Leaf Themed Suburb

As an architect who is blessed with having double citizenship–Spanish as well as Canadian– I was quite amused, while on … More

Pop (-Up) Urbanism in the City of Design

Barcelona is known around the world today as a city of design. Its urban grid, buildings, parks, squares, streets, benches, … More

Reassessing the Street-in-the-Sky in Times of Coronavirus

As Covid 19 spreads its way around the world, a fear of urban density is similarly catching on, with suburbs, … More

Circular Container Housing

Does the sight of absurd architectural projects containing shipping containers make you cringe? Do you break into a cold sweat … More

110 Rooms, 22 Flats, and One Good Idea

[Originally published in Baumeister 3/2020] The number of rooms contained in a building is not the way most young architects … More

Cocooning in Balconville

With lockdown in effect in many parts of the world, and urban streets and squares largely empty, residential balconies have … More

It's Now or Never

The whole world is grinding to a halt right now in what is surely the biggest crisis in several generations, … More

Traces of the Past

[Originally published in Baumeister January 2020] Vilanova de la Barca is a small town located on the eastern bank of … More

Circle of Life

[Originally published in The Architectural Review December 2019/January 2020] Article 12 of the 1964 Venice Charter of the International Council on … More

The Politics of Architecture

Why is supposedly “advanced” architecture appreciated by so many of today’s dictatorial rulers, and what does this tell us about … More

The Phenomenology of Solar Energy

I recently installed a thermo-solar water heater on my rooftop, and it has profoundly changed the way I live, making … More

A Heroic Architect-Politician Exists

A previously little known architect is the topic of conversation in Spain right now. The discussion has nothing to do … More

Eco-Monsters

A recent news item I came across stated: “If SUV drivers were a nation, they would rank seventh in the world … More

The Poseidon Adventure

[Originally published in The Architectural Review July-August 2019] The small, idyllic Mediterranean island of Formentera, Spain, isn’t the first place … More

CAP Macba

[Publicado originalmente en BCN MÉS #80] El pollo que se está montando entre el movimiento vecinal ravalero y el Macba sobre el … More

¡Viva la macromani!

Como ocurre cada verano, otro año más se van llenando las calles de miles de turistas, aquella especie que arrasa … More

Viviendas para vivir

[originalmente publicado en BCN MÉS #79] En las últimas décadas, hemos logrado conectar la ciudad con el mar, hemos creado espacios … More

Arquitecto de mierda / Shit-Architect

[Texto originalmente publicado en / Text originally published in BCN MÉS #73. English translation follows below] Arquitecto de mierda En … More

Gaudí’s Essential Hut

El Xalet de Catllaràs is a mountain refuge by Antoni Gaudí completed in 1905 for workers of the Asland cement … More

For Greener Cities

[Originally published in RocaGallery.com. Versión en castellano sigue a continuación] Urban mobility is becoming ever more diverse: electric cars, trucks, … More

Electoral Architecture

Elections for the mayorship of Barcelona are coming up later this year, and we’re already being delivered promises in the … More

Into the Woods

[Originally published in RocaGallery.com. Versión en castellano sigue a continuación] Forget steel or concrete; or even carbon fibre. The most … More

Fake Architecture News II

A few posts back, I discussed “fake architecture news” (FAN) in blogs and social media, describing an offer I had … More

How Much Does Your Conscience Weigh, Mr. Foster?

Dear Norman, I just read the following in the Architect’s Journal: “Amid an escalating crisis over the missing journalist Jamal … More

Mercats: Sant Antoni & Abat

[originalmente publicado en BCN MÉS #74] Ahora que el recién reformado Mercat de Sant Antoni lleva unos meses abierto, ha llegado el … More

Architecture and Design Reboot

[Originally published in RocaGallery.com. Versión en castellano sigue a continuación] Recycling is great…in theory. In practice however, it is only … More

Is Tourism the Only Thing Killing Barcelona?

A few days ago, The Guardian published a piece titled “Why Tourism is Killing Barcelona” that describes the damage that “overtourism” … More

Small City Architecture: Walden 7 as a Social Network

[Originally published in RocaGallery.com. Versión en castellano sigue a continuación] “The city is like a great house, and the house … More

Overarching Craft

[Originally published in The Architectural Review July/August 2018] Matola, a hamlet in the semi-desert of the southeastern Spanish province of … More

Knock on Stone: A Brief, Informal Acoustic Experiment at the Barcelona Pavilion

The original Barcelona Pavilion is believed to be the first time that stone was “hung” in the form of thin … More

Bicivia 7: El carril bici que une la metrópoli

[articulo publicado originalmente en BCN MÉS #71] En marzo [2018] se inauguró un nuevo carril bici –la Bicivia 7– de apenas … More

Mega-Market

Barcelona’s biggest market, Mercat Sant Antoni, has finally opened its doors after a renovation process lasting nearly a decade. The … More

Housing Thinking

[Originally published in HOUSE US, eds. Jae Sung Chon and Kent Mundle (Winnipeg: OCDI Press, 2018)] In comparison to the … More

Stop Demolishing Useful Buildings

I’m a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doomI kill conversation as I walk into the roomI’m a three line whipI’m … More

A New Low: the World’s Tallest Building

Faced with a half-day layover in Dubai recently, I decided to visit the tallest building in the world. I could … More

Fake Architecture News?

A few weeks ago, I received a curious e-mail from someone representing “a digital marketing agency currently working with a … More

A Guide to the Many Flags Visible in Barcelona These Days

[Originally published in Art4d Magazine] Barcelona is currently festooned with flags hanging from apartment balconies. It’s been this way especially … More

Spongifying the City

Esponjamiento urbano, a Spanish term that literally translates as “urban spongification”, refers to the process of aerating dense, historical urban … More

Notes from a Recent Construction Site Visit

I was recently fortunate enough to be shown a truly interesting work of architecture currently under construction in Barcelona: La … More

Inner Space

[Originally published in Azure Magazine November 2017] For an up-and-coming advertising agency called The Keenfolks, following the rules is not necessarily top … More

Dialectical Destinations: Two Solo Houses

[A version of this text was originally published in Baumeister December 2017] Contemporary architecture has become such an intrinsic component … More

Vinylizing the Barcelona Pavilion

The Barcelona Pavilion is as white as Greek yoghurt right now. All the Roman travertine, ancient green marble, green Alpine … More

Diving Deep

[Originally published in Frame Magazine #118] In creating Tunateca Balfegó Espai Gastronómic, a restaurant dedicated exclusively to dishes prepared with Atlantic … More

Archispeak in Political Propaganda

The Catalan independence movement has for years been churning out a great deal of propaganda in order to win over … More

La globalización de los mercados municipales

[publicado originalmente en BCN MÉS #63] Cualquiera que haya pisado uno de los recién remodelados mercados municipales en barcelona se … More

Disappearing Act

[Originally published in Baumeister 9/2017] As the place where Ancient Greeks first set foot on the Iberian peninsula, the archaeological … More

Loop the Loop

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #69] Solo Houses is the name of a project that’s intended to include more than … More

At Home: Santa Clara 1728

[Originally published in Azure Magazine, June 2017] Nestled within a labyrinth of narrow streets, small squares and gracefully aged buildings … More

Earthy, Corpulent and Well-Structured

[Originally published in Baumeister, June 2017] The Costa Brava’s Empordà region has a long history of exporting wine. Empúries, an … More

Destination Architecture

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #68] Barcelona may be well known today as an urban tourism destination, but it was … More

Interview with Daniel Mòdol, Architect and Politician

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #68] In Barcelona, architect and independent politician Daniel Mòdol was recently appointed city councillor for … More

Out-of-Doors House

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #67] This remarkable house cost under €900 per m2 to build. Admittedly, mentioning the cost … More

Award Politics

Architecture’s top award is the Pritzker Prize, as we all know. Often referred to in the media as the “Nobel … More

Vacation Ruin

Ruins are as depressing as they are beautiful. Building abandonment is never a happy occurrence, but when it precedes building inhabitation, it’s … More

Monomateriality

Material purity is highly valued in contemporary architecture. The ideal that buildings should be materially consistent inside and out seems … More

Why Be Normal

Recently, I visited two buildings that provoked me to seriously question everything I learned in school. One is a student residence … More

Experitecture

Empirical experimentation has always been intrinsic to architecture. Attempting to build something that has never been built before in terms of form, height, … More

Vernacular Precedent?

When I first saw an image of De Rotterdam, by OMA, I knew I had seen something vaguely similar before … More

Rem Koolhaas, Mythologized on the Big Screen

[Originally published in Azure Magazine Nov. / Dec. 2016] Filmed, produced, directed and edited by Tomas Koolhaas over the course of … More

Three Roles Played by Architecture in Three Recent Films

[Originally published in O magazine] Buildings are as ubiquitous in films as they are in our lives. Even in the most … More

Scatological Cantilever?

Unlike so many contemporary cantilevers whose only purpose, seemingly, is to out-do other cantilevers in depth, height or width, the tiny … More

Hyperbolic Holiday Greetings…

…and may the funicular be with you in 2017

Architecture Without ‘Parti’

One of the first lessons every student learns in architecture school is that an architectural design must always be based on a … More

The Barcelona Pavilion as Cozy Christmas Home

Here’s yet another advertisement that features the Barcelona Pavilion. This one isn’t a print ad for a famous German brand … More

Building on top

Sometimes, the best option is one on top of the other. It might be because available space is too constricted, because an opportunity is … More

The Definitive Solution to All Gentrification Everywhere

Gentrification is like cancer: everything seems to cause it, and there’s no cure; there’s no answer. We all know by now that … More

The Venetian Front

[Review of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition originally published in Mark Magazine #63. Photos by Sergio Pirrone.] Reporting From the … More

Super-Islands

The city block is a fundamental element of urbanism. The Ancient Romans called a city block an insula, or “island”, which is … More

Temporary Permanence

Earlier this summer, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the reconstruction of Mies van der Rohe’s German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona … More

Contemporary Ruins II

Further to my last post, here is another Spanish contemporary ruin by a Pritzker laureate: Toyo Ito’s spa near Torrevieja. … More

Contemporary Ruins

As is well-known, Spain’s recent building boom-turned-bust has left behind a legacy of halted construction projects that are now in … More

Built-In Obsolescence

The other day, out of the blue, my printer suddenly stalled, even though it had been working perfectly for once. Strange warning … More

Everyday Camouflage in the Countryside

The building above looks like a military installation of some sort, right? After all, it’s got a camouflage pattern on … More

A World Apart: Architectural Autonomy as Artistic Freedom / Un mundo aparte. La autonomía arquitectónica como libertad artística

[Originally presented at and published in Out-onomy, Critic|all II International Conference on Architectural Design and Criticism, ETSAM / Resumen en castellano sigue … More

Reporting From the Affront

[Text published in art4d magazine #238] The Venice Biennale is a huge event; architecture’s biggest. It’s so big, if we … More

Monolith of Memory

[Text originally published in Mark Magazine #61] The Camp de Rivesaltes, a sprawling military base built in 1938 near Perpignan, … More

Dizzying Inequality

Ben Wheatley’s film High Rise, a multi-story about decadence and class war in a Brutalist housing estate in London, brought plenty … More

Architecture Only an Artist can Get Away With

New York’s Guggenheim Museum has just announced plans to install a new artwork by Maurizio Cattelan consisting of a toilet made … More

Love-You Architecture

“The envy and hostility of Wall Street leads many to a common goal: to amass enough money so as to … More

Avoid the Void

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #60] In recent decades, architecture commemorating violent death has typically relied on a dark, austere and … More

Farewell Zaha

Zaha Hadid left us yesterday. She won’t be forgotten for a long time, as she was an architect who actually changed architecture. … More

Revisiting Casa Bloc

The architecture of housing differs fundamentally from the architecture of other building types in that it is never a purely qualitative … More

Inteligencia empresarial / Corporate Intelligence

[English text follows below] Ya sabemos que hoy en día está muy de moda llamar ‘inteligente’ o ‘smart’ a todo … More

Dis-fru-tar

[Originally published in Azure, November-December 2015] Disfrutar means “to enjoy” in Spanish. It’s an appropriate name for a restaurant that encapsulates … More

La crítica arquitectónica y la imagen del arquitecto / Architectural Criticism and the Public Image of the Architect

[English text follows below] [una versión previa de este texto ha sido presentada en un simposio de la ETSAB y publicada … More

New Year’s Greetings

Spa in Panticosa by MoneoBrock

But is it Architecture?

The recent adjudication of Britain’s Turner Prize to some Liverpool houses regenerated through neighbourhood participation by a young collective known as Assemble speaks … More

Plus ça change…

This is a screengrab of what appeared on my laptop recently when I downloaded a New York Times article titled “What You … More

A conversation with Ricardo Devesa

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #58] Ricardo Devesa is editor in chief of Actar, a Barcelona-based publisher known for books … More

Cycling Barcelona versus Copenhagen: an Experiential Comparison

The other day I read an interesting critique of Barcelona’s cycling infrastructure titled “The Arrogance of Space”, by the Copenhagenize … More

Twisted Logic: Turning Torso as ‘Innovative’ Housing?

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Malmö, Sweden; best known –in terms of contemporary architecture– for its Santiago Caltrava-designed … More

Why is BP sponsoring an architecture biennial?

Why is BP sponsoring an architecture biennial; specifically the Chicago Architecture Biennial, titled “The State of the Art of Architecture”, … More

Still Nurbing Along

Enric Ruiz Geli’s Villa Nurbs is still incomplete after 13 years. The good news is, however, that it does not appear to … More

Size Isn’t Everything

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #57] It’s been said that the most difficult thing to design in architecture is a … More

Design and Decadence in Sabiñanigo

The land-scars of Spain’s construction boom-gone-bust have been documented photographically to great extent. More typically than not, these images portray a landscape of newly built … More

The Art Studio-Museum

[Originally published in Oris Magazine #92] Situated on the distant side of the forested hillcrest that overlooks Barcelona, the Arranz-Bravo Studio … More

How to Find Work as an Architect

The perennial problem for the 99% of architects who are not stars is: how and where do you find work? There are many ways … More

The First BIAM: 20 Years After

I recently attended a reunion to celebrate 20 years since graduating from the Berlage Institute Amsterdam. This first ever BIAM, or ‘Berlage … More

Beauty

‘Beauty’ is one of the rarest words used by professionals when talking about architecture, yet it is one of the most used by … More

The School in the Forest

Els Xiprers –The Cypresses in Catalan– is the name of a Barcelona primary school situated in a very special setting: a forested … More

Selfie Scene

With the invention of the ‘selfie’, the traditional comic foreground or carnival cutout is rendered obsolete, along with the profession of carnival portrait photographer. … More

Architecture and Crime

A recent escape from a maximum-security prison in upstate New York, in which two convicted murderers cut through steel jail-cell walls to … More

Sign o’ the Times

Isn’t it great when something that looks ‘arty’ turns out not to be art at all? A well-designed object that … More

New ‘Public’ Space in Barcelona

“The goal is to turn this old, unloved port into the best super marina in the world, to integrate yachting … More

From Baukunst to Kunstwelt: The Biennalization of Architecture

There is no doubt that architecture is an art. The eternal question is which kind. Is architecture a building art? A … More

Taste

RCR, the Catalan architectural firm known for its love of Corten steel, has an exhibition in Barcelona’s Palau Robert that … More

The Tall Building Politically Reconsidered

The tall building has been an expression of machista one-upmanship since its earliest beginnings. San Gimignano’s stone towers are a built testament … More

Brutal Underground

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #54] Barcelona has a problem: too many motor vehicles occupy too much space and fill … More

A Response to Marc Kushner’s ‘A New Golden Age of Architecture’

[Originally published on medium.com] Dear Marc Kushner, Like yourself, I also want people to love architecture. But unlike yourself, I don’t … More

Death of a Manifesto

“Architecture Must Blaze” is the title of a 1980 manifesto by Coop Himmelb(l)au. In it, the architects declare: “we don’t want to exclude everything … More

Emot-Icon Building

Considering the recent spate of ‘icon’ buildings, you would think that an Emoji would exist for ‘Architecture’ by now, but no, this is in fact … More

Multiple Discovery, Idea Theft, or Tweaking?

Having an original idea is everything in architecture. Its history is one of innovations and breakthroughs; of new ideas, materials, and … More

Observations on Attitude

[Originally published in Log Journal #32] Visiting “Fair Enough,” the satirical exhibition in the Russian Pavilion, I was reminded of … More

2015 Atmosphere Symposium: Emergence

The annual Atmosphere symposium, presented by the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, will be held February 5–7, … More

Radical Architecture at its Most Subversive

This house near Barcelona ranks among the most radical and subversive works of architecture of 2014, and yet it’s not by … More

Seeing Things

Mountain architecture is very different from its flatland counterpart. This may be stating the obvious, but I’m referring here to … More

Seriously now, folks.

The other day, a friend of mine posted a rather humorous item titled “Religious Truths” on Facebook along with the … More

Tradition

It’s early January, and in Spain the Christmas shopping season is still in full swing. Aarrgghh! It’s all because of … More

Pure Shit (II)

This building in the Catalan Pyrenees is a perfect example of the kind of “pure shit” that, according to Frank … More

The STEM Turn

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. It’s an acronym that can be heard a lot coming from the … More

Thinking Big: The City of Culture of Galicia as Regional Development Strategy

[Text originally commissioned in 2011 by a Swiss art institution for an exhibition that never materialized and for which I … More

Barcelona’s Disappearing Green Façades

Barcelona’s ‘green façades’ are disappearing at an alarming rate. A part of this city’s vernacular tradition, the small balconies typically used by apartment … More

Carme Pinós Honours the Pillar

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #52] Our Lady of the Pillar, Zaragoza’s 17th-century baroque basilica, is dedicated to the Virgin … More

How to become a “public space” benefactor in 6 easy steps:

Pssst. Nouveau-riche and dying to go down in philanthropic history? Why not build a “public space” vanity project? It’s easy. Here’s how you do … More

Pure Shit

I couldn’t agree more, Frank.  

Groupies

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #51] We’ve all heard of ‘selfies’. What about ‘groupies’? During the opening of the 14th … More

Cities that Come and Go

Within walking distance of Barcelona’s historic centre, there lies a small satellite town that comes and goes with regularity. It tends to … More

Cruise Ships

Le Corbusier famously wrote in Vers une architecture that we should look to ocean liners as examples of a new, modern architecture. This … More

Criticism 2.0, or Nobody Likes a Critic when Everyone’s a Critic

[This text originated as a talk at the CICA Critical Juncture symposium session “Architectural Criticism Now” in February 2014 at the … More

Morning Glory

It must surely be a signal from the cosmos. Yesterday, September 8th, at precisely 7:39 AM,  I woke up, opened … More

Drawing Conclusions

Rebel Rebel

Al Jazeera is currently airing a series of architectural documentaries in six parts titled “Rebel Architects“, the first of which is … More

When in Rome

Barcelona’s public space is yet again being hotly contested. Protests against the many illegal tourist apartments in this city, sparked by last week’s publication … More

Reality Check: Spain

[Text originally published in Mark Magazine #50] Revisiting architecture is always a good thing to do, especially when the work … More

Criticism as Reality Check

As my article titled “Reality Check: Spain” in the current (at time of post) 50th issue of Mark Magazine hopefully makes clear, architecture … More

Architecture’s Prime Taboo, is one of its ‘Fundamentals’, too.

Russia’s pavilion at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale, titled ‘Fair Enough’, is one of the few exhibitions in the entire Biennale … More

Destination: Barcelona’s Renaissance Fira Hotel

[Originally published in Azure, May 2014] The elevator soars up the Hotel Renaissance Fira Barcelona, and my knees buckle beneath … More

Some Reflections on Concrete Formwork

Every building material symbolizes something, and the most modern building materials are no exception. Glass, we have been told, is representative … More

Groupies: A Mark Magazine project at the Venice Architecture Biennale

We’ve all heard of ‘selfies’, perhaps even taken a few ourselves. So why not ‘groupies’? During the opening of the … More

Skin-Deep Beauty

Rambla de Canaletes, Barcelona. 8:30 AM. The morning light is shining through the window openings of a façade that has been … More

The Barcelona Brand

Barcelona is the sixth most powerful urban brand in the world, according to a report published today in The Guardian, … More

B720 Corners the Flea Market

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #48] With its beginnings dating back to the 14th century, Barcelona’s flea market La Fira de Bellcaire (also known … More

What’s in a Name?

How should we name an important temple after it undergoes a complete religious change of use, but only a partial architectural transformation? And … More

Generic No More: Toronto Modernism in Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Enemy’

Canadian cities such as Toronto or Vancouver are often used by Hollywood to represent either generic modern cities that could … More

From Bauhaus to Vitrahaus and Beyond: a new Meme?

Architecture and Status-Anxiety

Ever wondered why luxury products are advertised so heavily in mass-circulation media, even though the market for such products is … More

Tourism versus Terrorism

Is tourism a form of terrorism? Some Barcelonins seem to think so. All over the city — especially near tourists sites … More

Perspective is Everything

Same place seen from different viewpoints (Pas de la Casa, Andorra). Neon duty-free stores selling discounted liquor and cigarettes to … More

The Ramp of Justice

Ever since Infanta Cristina, King Juan Carlos of Spain’s younger daughter, was called into Palma de Mallorca’s courthouse for questioning … More

Calatrava May Bleed You Dry, But Who is Ultimately Responsible?

Several Spanish media (such as El Diario and El País) are reporting that Santiago Calatrava is suing Esquerra Unida País Valencià … More

Everything is Art

In September 2012, the fiscally and socially retrograde People’s Party governing Spain raised the value-added tax on most items to 21%, … More

Critical Juncture: the Work of Joseph Rykwert, critic

CICA, AA and V&A organise events to mark the occasion of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal awarded to CICA President … More

Power, Corruption and Architecture

Transparency International released its annual report some weeks ago, and this year’s corruption perception index, which ranks 177 countries from least to most … More

Ice Fishing in Gimli, a book project by Rob Kovitz

One of my favorite publishers, Treyf Books, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Treyf is offering, for the first time, Ice … More

2014

Media-TIC, another Sad Spectacle?

In an article I wrote a few years ago on Barcelona’s Media-TIC building, for Mark Magazine #25, I concluded my optimistic … More

Spanish Steps

[Originally published in Azure, Nov/Dec 2013] One thing becomes immediately apparent when approaching MediaLab-Prado. There is no confusing old with … More

Old Buildings, New Buildings

“I don’t know whether we should be designating heritage buildings.” — Frank O. Gehry Why is preserving old buildings only … More

Hotel Agbar?

Barcelona’s La Vanguardia newspaper reported three days ago that the Agbar Tower, an office building designed by Jean Nouvel and completed in … More

Sagrada Familia Doubt

A recent video illustrating “the final stages of Gaudí’s masterpiece”  represents, we are led to believe, La Sagrada Familia completed. However, … More

Sociability Generator

[Originally published in Azure, October 2013] Gràcia, with its narrow streets and the atmosphere of the former village still intact, … More

How Much Does Your Conscience Weigh, Mr. Koolhaas?

Mr. Koolhaas, you designed a daring and ambitious building for CCTV, China’s state-controlled television broadcaster. But it is from this … More

Adam’s House in Paradise

The courtyard house may be ancient, but it is still contemporary and modern. This became apparent to me on a … More

A Barcelona Hotel gets Graphic

[Originally published in Azure, September 2013] For Pau, its new hotel in Barcelona, the Room Mate group sought an interior … More

Learned from Las Vegas: DHUB Design Museum, Barcelona, by MBM

[Originally published in Mark Magazine #45] This building is important. It occupies a prominent site at the intersection of three of … More

Step Right Up. Architectural Monumentality. Three Boxer Shorts for Only 6€.

Flea markets are normally found under bridges, in empty parking lots, or in old industrial sheds. This flea market (which … More

Remembering Marshall Berman

I think it was in 1985. I would have been in my second year of study at University of Waterloo’s … More

Product Placement / Emplazamiento publicitario

Product Placement [Originally published in Arquitectura Viva #153 under the title “Marcas y contextos”. Translation: Eduardo Prieto] “Designed by Apple … More

Architecture Road-Tripping: Marseille

Earlier this August, I went on a roadtrip through southern France and spent two nights in l’Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, … More

La Grande Motte Revisited

I first saw La Grande Motte in the summer of 1978, more than a decade before I would graduate from … More

The Forest Metaphor

The Drassanes Reials (royal shipyard) of Barcelona has recently reopened after a lengthy renovation by architects Robert and Esteve Terradas. … More

Bullshit Island

“Barcelona Island will be an out of this world experience for all guests of ‘Mobilona Space Hotel’ who wish they … More

Making Bullshit Mountains out of Buildings

“If architecture is landscape, buildings are mountains.”  -Vicente Guallart, chief architect of the city of Barcelona and general director of Urban … More

Provocative Architecture?

In “Little Frank and his Carp”, a 2001 video of a performance by artist Andrea Fraser, architecture, replete with its … More

NO a la LSP

Spanish architecture is respected the world over, if the number of exhibitions, publications, Gaudí fans, and archi-tourists who visit this … More

Architects’ Struggle

Today, I ran into a small protest: a squadron (herd? platoon? pack?) of young architects protesting dismal working conditions. Other … More

The Vancouver Model versus El Modelo Barcelona: Trevor Boddy talks, Francesc Muñoz responds.

The Canadian port city of Vancouver has entered centre stage of the global debate about future directions for cities in the sustainability … More

A Whimsical Water Tower in…Barcelona?

I spotted this fantastic water tower the other day while walking around Poble Nou, Barcelona’s industrial graveyard. Claes Oldenburg and … More

Fashion Victim

You know green walls have become trendy when a designer fashion label puts one up that’s made of plastic. Kinda … More

Construction as Spectacle: Mercat dels Encants

The construction of the new Mercat dels Encants / Fira de Bellcaire (Barcelona’s flea market), by b720 Arquitectos, is not only spectacular … More