Antoni Gaudí is often cited as an architect who was “in tune with nature.” His complex, curvilinear forms, it is…
Grassroots Gentrification?
A few years ago, dozens of residents of a street in Barcelona’s El Raval neighborhood started hanging potted plants from…
Less Glass
In 1832, as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe lay on his deathbed, he famously uttered the words “Mehr Licht” (more light).…
Save Barcelona’s Plaça dels Àngels from MACBA contemporary art museum’s expansion
Please consider signing this petition. [Versión en castellano sigue a continuación / Versió en català segueix a continuació] Barcelona’s Plaça…
The Metaphysics of Zoning
Welcome to one of Barcelona’s “newest” green zones. Barely a year old, it’s located one block off Las Ramblas, the…
Trees in the Air
What is the point of suspending trees in the air? They grow much better on the ground, where they also…
Sharing School
[Originally published in Bauwelt 5.2023. Photos by Aitor Estévez] Barcelona has some of the densest neighborhoods in Europe, so it…
Up Close and Personal
[Originally published in Bauwelt 4.2023] One of the growing problems facing Spain today is the ongoing depopulation of its interior…
The Attrition of Automobiles
The 2022 European Prize for Urban Public Space has gone to the disappearance of an urban expressway in Utrecht, Netherlands,…
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…
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)…
Community Integration
[Originally published in Bauwelt 14.2022] With a current average life expectancy of almost 84 years, Spain’s is one of the…
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…
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…
Hotel Empanada
This advertisement for a Barcelona snack bar franchise contains an image of a local landmark building by the late Ricardo…
Public Property
[Originally published in The Architectural Review in April 2022] Before the arrival of steel and concrete, the most widely used…
Open House
[Originally published in Bauwelt March 2022] Since the emergence of the pandemic, outdoor private space has come to be newly…
Archaeological Building
[Originally published in Baumeister December 2021] Older buildings are no longer what they used to be. Until recently, the argument…
Presenting the E-Window®
Are windows really necessary in buildings? Is an LED panel that simulates a window an acceptable substitute? Some seem to…
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…
Criticalista 