Spanish Architects Studios, Spain Architecture Practices, Offices, Firms

Architects in Spain: Architecture Offices

9 Dec 2020

Spain is known worldwide for its architecture. With a fine balance of Romanesque architecture and Gothic, there’s a complimentary blend running throughout the major cities to draw inspiration from. Pre-Roman architecture dates back to 4000BC with stone burial changers, some of which reached 25 meters deep and 5 meters wide.

Romanesque architecture hit Spain in the 10th century like a tonne of bricks, stretching all the way until the 12th century. This was when Gothic architecture was introduced, though there was very much a mixture of the two until the 13th century, when gothic buildings became more true to themselves. Since then, there’s been renaissance, baroque, colonial and neoclassical influences on Spain’s rich and diverse architecture.

There’s a lot of architects in Spain currently, and whilst they are in love with old-Spain, many are looking to push the boundaries of modern Spain. There’s a large space for modern design in Spain, with many migrants coming to Spain with the money and ambition to build their dream home in the Spanish mountains. The best architecture studio in Spain, as leading by example, are creating unique living experiences. This is often done by making the most of Spain’s rich nature, and of course using water to make the most of the Spanish sun.

Blurring lines between water, nature and the sky is one way to indulge in the nature of a home’s surroundings. There are not only a lot of golf courses in Spain, but there are a lot being currently created. Golf courses can be a fantastic opportunity to create an other worldly experience by playing on the sense of space — vast areas of garden with water and plantation surrounding it.

Architecture in Marbella and Sotogrande is raising the global bar of modern architecture. Of course, Sotogrande has the advantage of being idyllically situated on a flow of land and bay areas, blurring boundaries of sea and land. The open plan feel to the outside environment is reflected within the design of the villa. This is taken advantage of with modern builds with infinity pools on the seaside in Marbella too, where seamless merging of different environments is achieved.

Spanish architecture adapting to a COVID-19 environment

Spanish architects are currently undergoing an adaptation phase. New builds are considering the importance of ventilation in the event of airborne viruses in order to keep those inside breathing as fresh air as possible.

Whilst scientists and big pharma companies are enduring a race to finding a vaccine, architects are looking at ways we can live safely within a pandemic. Not only is there no foreseeable expiry date for COVID-19, but the fragility of our society has been exposed, and we need future design to be conducive to such pandemics. This involves design within residential homes as much as it is in commercial.

Improving natural ventilation is known to prevent up to 20% of lung-related illness, so this is a timeless design issue. Spanish architects are also on the hunt to maximise our use of solar, given that it’s a very sunny environment.

Minimising energy use is important, such as smart home design with automated thermostat control and such, but we’re always going to still use a lot of home gas and electricity. Thermal solar appears to be the best way at solving the issue in a democracised sense, given that architects can take on more responsibility regarding the energy efficiency of each construction — and integrating sustainable energy infrastructure.

To aim to try and build unique experiences with luxury villas is one challenge, but to integrate eco-friendly functionality into its seamless design is even more difficult. Whilst many countries don’t mind seeing functionality, many Spanish luxury villas are trying to push boundaries on playing with your senses and creating flows of space. This very abruptly breaks the illusion when there’s a wind turbine or solar panel on the roof.

Thus, the solution is to build the functionality covertly in its DNA. Solar roof tiles, high-grade insulation windows for the large panels and so on. Furthermore, designing so the living space receives sun only in the mornings or evenings, as opposed to midday when the sun is at its most hot. This can reduce AC consumption, much like how artificial grass can reduce the maintenance emissions.

Final Word

To become an architect in Spain is a matter of attaining an accredited degree. Given that Spain is firmly within the EU, being a licensed architect in another EU member state is likely to transfer very smoothly. In the current climate, many architects in Spain are working from home. In fact, it’s very common to be self-employed and/or work remotely as an architect.

Seville, Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid are some of the best cities regarding architecture. Both in its environment and its education. However, for luxury villa architecture, heading to the south is essential. Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca most notably have a high growth of luxury villas being built.

Location: Spain, southwestern Europe