Part I Contemporary architects shaping the world: Europe and America

By Salma Hwedi on - 3m. reading time

Architecture is constantly evolving thanks to a new breed of innovative and forward thinking architects. Buildings around the world have progressed from monuments to ecological engineering sculptures which have revolutionized the way we view the world.

Having worked with renowned architects Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas, а founder of OOIIO ARCHITECTURА Joaquin Millán opens our eyes to unique and poetic architectural projects. His signature is playing with geometry, shapes and colours, which introduce us to a new dimension. “One of the most important aspects of any good construction is the capacity for giving emotions to the users, recall sensations, bring poetry to society. Following this ideal, we design architecture and propose optimistic, visual and fresh constructions that transform the spirit of the whole districts” says Joaquin Millán. He has recently completed the Hotel Benidorm in Spain.

AWARDS

• 1st Prize. Open call for proposals. Spanish Pavilion for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016. Project “The Arc hitecture and The Refugees Tale”.
• Finalists. International Architectural Prize Matimex. “Hotel Benidorm” 2015
• 1st Prize. Public Competition for Building Rehabilitation. “Offices for New Entrepreneurs in Madridejos”

PROJECT HOTEL BENIDORM – SPAIN
The Benidorm Hotel is an exclusive hotel visible from all sides and built on the small island which lies in front of Benidorm. The double façade allows air circulation around the building so it can be refreshed and reduce the air-conditioning consumption. The interior is elegant and with futuristic features. The hotel is designed as a great triangle and seems as a sailing boat trying to approach the coast.

ooiio_hotel-benidorm-copia

Spanish-born Andrés Jaque is considered one of the most challenging contemporary European architects who is working all over the world and directing his Madrid/New York based Office for Political Innovation – a special urban lab of architects, sociologists, economists and journalists focused on the development of a democratically centred architecture, considering objects as material actors of a fair, equalitarian society. The firm Andres Jaque Architects develops architectural projects that bring inclusivity into our daily living and rebel against the traditional ideals of architecture. His projects are bold, colourful and often childlike. His best known work is “The House in Never Never Land” built in Ibiza, a steel framed structured perched on the side of a hill pained in blue, florescent green and purple - the signature colours of Jaque.

Andrés Jaque
Andres Jaque ARCHITECTS

AWARDS
• Winner of the MOMA PS1 Architects Program 2015, project COSMO, New York.
• Silver Lion of the 14 Mostra Internazionale di Architettura – Biennale di Venezia, 2014.
• Dionisio Hernandez Gil Prize for Plasencia Clergy House, Plasencia, Spain.
• Local awards for the winning projects: House in Never Never Land (Ibiza), Casa Tupper (Madrid) and Escaravox (Madrid)

PROJECT COSMO - NEW YORK
A remarkable example for our future survival, Cosmo was a temporary innovative project hard to classify into usual categories such as pavilion, installation or even architecture. Therefore it was simply defined as an “artifact” and also titled as “an innovative biochemical design” because the installation consisted of numerous tubes and pipes which filtered 3,000 gallons of water within four days eliminating particles and increasing the oxygen levels. A moveable structure was designed to address the worrying estimates made by the UN that by 2025 two thirds of the world population would not have enough drinking water.

Besides, through its advanced biochemical system the core of the pavilion was glowing every time the water became pure, lighting courtyard and providing a fascinating background to live performances and music concerts.

Andrés Jaque
Collaborator Salma Hwedi