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 … 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

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