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Interview with Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano:Architects and the secret hidden agenda

United Kingdom Architecture News - Apr 14, 2015 - 10:01   3560 views

Interview with Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano:Architects and the secret hidden agenda

Arvo Part Centre,Laulasmaa, Estonia 2014-2015 by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos;image © Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos

The Alvar Aalto Medal, presented during the recent Architecture Day seminar on 3 February, 2015, was this time awarded to the Spanish architect couple Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano. Architects Francesc Palomeras and Tiia Ettala interviewed the awardees in Hotel Klaus K in Helsinki before attending the award ceremony. This interview is a translation of the text “Arkkitehdit ja salainen missio”, published in Finnish in Arkkitehtiuutiset 3/2015.

Interview with Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano:Architects and the secret hidden agenda

The 12th Alvar Aalto Medal recipients Enrique Sobejano and Fuensanta Nieto in Helsinki.Photography © Juho Haavisto / MFA.

A significant part of the extensive production of the Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos office comprises exhibition and museum buildings, as well as challenging renovations and extensions. The commissions are often obtained as a result of winning an architectural competition. The works of Nieto and Sobejano are exceptionally high-quality architecture, yet at the same time retain a feel of experimentation and excitement, as well as sensitivity towards the user and the environment. The architect couple commutes between their Madrid and Berlin offices, and in addition both of them hold professorships in the academic world.

You are undeniably international architects. How does your cultural background affect your work? Can one talk about an Iberian architecture?

Enrique Sobejano (ES): – The cultural background inevitably has an influence. Viewed from the outside, one can identify something that can be described as Iberian architecture, even though to us it would seem that we are each very different. Mediterranean architecture would already be something else. Our approach to architecture is distinctly different from what we have encountered in recent years in, for example, Germany or Austria, and, inevitably, this is also reflected in the designs and way of building.
Fuensanta Nieto (FN): – Of course, everything has an influence: your place of birth, life circumstances, what you see around you, the way you look at the world. This outlook, however, changes over time, as you gain experience, along with the choices you have made. In good design one must understand the surrounding reality and create a building from it......Continue Reading

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