“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can give to greatness.” -Oscar Wilde. From the outside, the Crematorium … More
Tag: architecture
Just another earth brick in the wall
[Originally published in the September 2024 issue of The Architectural Review] Comfort is the reason we construct most buildings. The … More
The Post-Olympic Transformation of Barcelona
[Originally published in Heide Wessely and Sandra Hofmeister, editors: Barcelona: Urban Architecture and Community Since 2010. Munich: Edition DETAIL, 2023] … More
Open House
[Originally published in Bauwelt March 2022] Since the emergence of the pandemic, outdoor private space has come to be newly … 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
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
Housing Thinking
[Originally published in HOUSE US, eds. Jae Sung Chon and Kent Mundle (Winnipeg: OCDI Press, 2018)] In comparison to the … 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
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
Destination Architecture
[Originally published in Mark Magazine #68] Barcelona may be well known today as an urban tourism destination, but it was … 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
Vernacular Precedent?
When I first saw an image of De Rotterdam, by OMA, I knew I had seen something vaguely similar before … 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
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
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
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
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
Criticalista 