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

Gaudí’s Essential Hut

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

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

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

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

Mega-Market

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

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

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

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

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 sad 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