(Refurbishment of office space; Bid; Madrid, Spain; 2009) An inner-town dilapidated building needs to be turned into an open and dynamic office space for technological startup businesses. The refurbishment contemplates demolishing all the partitions and offering a generous open-floor lay out. The project also includes an outdoors terrace, a flexible meeting room and a service core. This lay out offers maximum versatility and flexibility for future adaptations.

(Design of a pedestrian and cycling bridge in Lisbon; Competition, First Honorable Mention; Lisbon, Portugal; 2009) The proposal of the bridge-park is not just to connect the two sides of a motorway, but to re-establish certain qualities that were interrupted with the construction of the motorway, namely the continuity of the tree-lined paths. As if we were landscape archaeologists we extended the two broken up axis and that lead to the peculiar shape of the bridge in plan. In order to emphasize the continuity of the trees enfilades the bridge becomes part of a linear park, with trees planted on it as well. The bridge-park goes beyond a simple element to get from one side of the motorway to the other, it becomes an experience. Its asymmetric profile makes the perception of the bridge different depending on each individual's circumstances and responds as well to structural requirements.

(Fitting of a bookstore; Lausanne, Switzerland; 2009-2010) Librairie La Fontaine is a historic bookstore inside the EPFL campus in Lausanne. Its venue will be moved to the new Rolex Learning Centre designed by SANAA architects. Taking into consideration the architectural language of the host building the bookstore is organised around 5 "pods". All pods are slightly different from each other, housing books or magazines on their outside and inside, and even a cozy reading cocoon. The space moves away from a conventional aisle and bookshelve rigidity and creates a fluid environment with a rich variety of spaces.

(Refurbishment of apartment building entrance lobby; Madrid, Spain; 2009-2010) Titanic was one of the tallest residential buildings in Madrid at the time of its construction (1919-1921). Its prominent presence still today does not correspond to the state of decay of its entrance lobby. The refurbishment project has chiefly consisted in making the space feel more welcoming and cozy through its wooden cladding, as well as making it feel shorter than it appears by unifying the space into one.

(Refurbishment of bar; Madrid, Spain; 2009- ) The refurbishment of a small bar in the historic centre of Madrid provided the opportunity to revisit the tradition of glazed ceramic tiles which is so typical of Madrid. The inner organisation of the bar has been optimised given the limited size of the premises, and all the walls have been tiled with an array of multiple recycled old tiles becoming the pixels of a larger image. The bar itself, made out of wood, protrudes in the space like an external element, making the premises feel larger than they appear.

(Art institution stand; Madrid, Spain; 2009; collaboration with Ramiro Losada). Iniciarte is an initiative of the regional government of Andalucía to promote emerging artists from that region of Spain. Its stand in the ARCO contemporary art fair was an opportunity to generate a memorable environment which stayed in the memory of visitors through its unique spatial experience and which provided a moment of visual relaxation in the midst of the hectic atmosphere of the fair. It consisted of a horse-shoe shaped thoroughfare. Its white, smooth contours deceived the perception of depth and the art pieces seemed to float in space. The inner wall of the curve, made out of soft padded material also hosted the back-projected videoart pieces.

(Transformation of historical building; Competition; San Sebastián, Spain; 2008; Collaboration with Carlos Manzano) The mammoth Tabakalera building in San Sebastián dates back to 1912 and with its 26.000m2 surface it is the largest building in this pretty Northern Spanish town. Now local, regional and national authorities have agreed to turn it into a multifunctional cultural centre (mediatek, new media art production, film centre, exhibition space, auditoriums, TV filming set…). The original structure of the building, with its four symmetrical courtyards was used as a base for the intervention. All patios have been covered but each one was given a specific character both programmatically and architecturally with distinct interventions: mediatec with mezzanines, public plaza with terraced levels, auditorium inside a floating box, open exhibition space. The central axis of the building links the main entrance from the Egia neighbourhood and the future back access on first floor from the planned platform on top of the railway station. This internal street connects all main programmes and with its flow of visitors, users and citizens it has the potential of becoming an exciting and dynamic feature bringing life and activity to the heart of the Tabakalera centre.

(Kiosk and landscape design; Madrid, Spain; 2008: collaboration with Ramiro Losada) Parque de los Pinos is split into two by a historic aqueduct from the 19th century. This elongated landmark that should articulate the park is actually dividing it. The project consists of punctual interventions that reactivate the public life and give character to this inner city park. Firstly a series of blocked arches are re-opened through a simple earth displacement operation, creating a new gateway into the park. Secondly a dilapidated open-air auditorium is re-landscaped covering it with greenery and wooden tiles making it softer and more appealing as a venue for cultural events. Thirdly a vaulted brick kiosk, housing a cafeteria and park management services, is built attached to an arched passage under the aqueduct, thus tapping into this historical umbilical cord and celebrating the connection between both sides of the park.

(Reflections on the utopian city; Madrid, Spain; 2008; collaboration with Studio Banana) Studio Banana, of which we are members, was selected by Intermediae-Matadero in Madrid to participate in the programme Alterpolis. The brief was to think about the utopian city in the 21st century and to materialise the thought onto a 3x3m. model. Given the multiple and diverse professional disciplines and personal backgrounds of the Studio Banana members, it soon became evident the impossibility of agreeing upon one utopian vision of the city, but more rather a multiplicity of personal utopias. Based on this, we decided to go out on the streets and gather people’s own personal utopias, thus making four audiovisual documentaries that reflect the complexity of the question and the richness of human nature. The videos were shown in Matadero-Madrid inside the “cloud” installation which allows visitors to have their feet on the ground and their heads in the clouds, helping them dream on and imagine their own utopian cities.

(House for a photographic series; 2008) The outstanding photographic series Black Mountains and Ghosts, by British artist Dan Holdsworth, portray the receding glacier Soleheimejokull in Iceland. The monumentality of this landscape talks about earth’s energy and frailty triggering a reflection upon man’s influence on the planet's internal balance. The spectacular beauty of these photographs asks for a carefully tailored perception. The Black Mountains project is a space conceived to enhance the experience of these photographs by creating specific light, sound, tactile, temperature and movement conditions.

(Renovation of hotel ball room; Madrid, Spain; 2008) The Palace, located in a Historicist 19th century building in central Madrid, is one of the most prestigious hotels in Spain. Its ball room often hosts exclusive events; however its successive partial refurbishments have left a stylistic collage of materials, solutions and features. The proposal consisted in unifying the lower ball room with its accesses from the street and from the elevator core through an overall material and spatial concept. A cavern-like architecture made out of continuous chambers and reflective irregular mosaic tiles embodies a geological spatial perception, offering a totally novel experience of a historical landmark institution like the Palace Hotel.

(Ephemeral pavilion; Plasencia, Spain; 2007) The fast nature of this project (a temporary exhibition space in a public plaza) required an equally fast proposal and construction. The inflatable pavilion was designed within a few hours after the brief was received, tailor-cut and stitched within a few days and deployed with the help of a compressor within minutes. The result is a portable, deployable and reusable construction.

(Territorial think-tank; Asturias, Spain; 2007- ; Collaboration with Arte-Cidade) Asturegion is a complex territory located in Northern Spain. It comprises an urban agglomeration of more than 800.000 inhabitants; coastal plains, valleys and mountains of up to 1.300 metres; dense urban centres, suburban developments, heavy and extensive industrial settlements, extensive logistic centres, abandoned coal mining infrastructures and pristine natural reserves. Global market decisions and the development of emerging economies have caused a structural crisis in the region during the 1980’s and 1990’s that has lead to the virtual disappearance of 200 years of coal mining history and to the drastic reduction in ship building and steel production. Asturegion is currently undergoing a crucial transition process towards a touristic, service-providing and high-tech industry territory. A multidisciplinary team formed by philosophers, historians, economists, sociologists, geographers, architects, territorial planners and art specialists set up the project Territorial Lab with the intention of creating a think-tank that would find some of the potential dynamics that can regenerate a strong identity to a region that has suffered a deep and dramatic upheaval.

(Piecemeal renovation of art gallery; Gijón, Spain; 2008- ) Espacio Liquido is a contemporary art gallery located in front of the Atlantic ocean in Gijón (Northern Spain) and run by a young and dynamic gallerist. The space comprises street-level rooms, an inner courtyard and a basement floor. The evolution of the activities (art gallery but also cultural events venue) requires the space to be adapted through gradual piecemeal interventions that do not interfere too much in the day to day business. Firstly the crude inner courtyard will be transformed into a welcoming garden patio with lush vegetation on the walls. Secondly the basement and ground floor will be turned into independent entities allowing for separate usage. Finally the access to the gallery space and to the cultural events venue will be modified.

(Refurbishment of Heineken Spain Headquarters; Mirasierra, Madrid, Spain; 2008- ; Collaboration with Ramiro Losada) The current offices of the company, located in an anonymous corporate building from the 1980’s, are an uninspiring working environment. The project consists of some basic moves that would make the space more characteristic and endowed with the flexibility required by new working methods. Firstly the open-plan working space is pushed to the perimeter of the deep-plan building in order to have a closer contact with natural illumination and ventilation. The circulation is kept simple and continuous but its longitudinal monotony is broken with some geometrical “accidents”. The inner patios are made more luminous with special light features, and around them gather the closed-plan ancillary spaces. Special rooms such as meeting rooms, directors’ offices and resting lounges are scattered around the floor like mini-landmarks or follies that bring identity and personality to the space and differentiate each floor of the building. Finally, some flexible curtain screens permit the temporary enclosure of certain spaces for ephemeral meeting rooms or ideas-workshop environments.

MARCAU, ILANZ ZENTRUM (Multifunctional centre Feasibility study and concept design; Ilanz, Switzerland; 2008- ; Collaboration with Capaul-Blumenthal) Ilanz is the administrative capital of the Surselva region located in the canton of Graubünden, in the middle of the Swiss Alps. With a 2.500 residents and 2.600 jobs, it is a perfect example of a regional activity hub. However, it desperately misses an urban heart that gives the town a specific identity. Marcau ("market" in Rhaeto Romanic language) is a multifunctional centre, a new piece of city, that combines train station and postal bus terminal, retail space, corporate office units, regional administration offices and parliament, music school, medical centre and apartments. Its design consists of four solid buildings, parallel to the direction of the Rhine valley in which they are located. Their inward sloping roofs ressemble the glacial morains that are so characteristic of Alpine landscapes. In breaking down the large scale of the overall programme to four buildings the project integrates itself with the scale of the town.

(Psychiatric clinic; Aravaca, Spain; 2008- ) A psychiatric clinic is primarily a house for feeble people on their way back towards a normal life in everyday society. It is like a mini city with different sections, ambients, streets... The client of this project, the third generation of a renowned psychiatric doctors family, had in mind a complex programme with multiple users (serious patients, casual patients, patients' relatives, medical staff, service staff, residents) which was accommodated using a clean and simple array of architectural means. Given the nature of the building (psychiatric consultation rooms and day hospital) and the natural slope of the site, the building is arranged in terraced wings with different medical functions that profit from the individual gardens they each have. The treatment of the vegetation and open spaces is exquisite, becoming an inherent part of the therapeutic process.

(Strategic architectural consultancy to an international tea company; Eastleigh, UK; 2007- ) Ahmad Tea, one of the largest tea emporiums in the world undertakes an expansion of their headquarters near Southampton, UK. kawamura-ganjavian provide strategic consultancy service guiding them through the process and assessing them on architectural decision-making.

(Intervention in a loft; Madrid, Spain; 2007-8) A young couple who live in an open floor loft needs to install their audiovisual production studio in the space but would like to keep office and flat clearly divided. Trying no to compromise the spatial generosity of the loft as it is, but defining functional transitions as well as giving a practical solution to the working space requirements, we propose a piece of furniture-architecture that integrates in one element several functions: storage of material, working platform, office shelves, dining room cabinet, bedroom cupboard, entrance to flat, staircase to mezzanine and toilet. The piece of furniture-architecture, made out of subtly painted chipboard, gives a slight industrial touch to the space without becoming too heavy since the details enfasise that this added element does not belong to the architecture of the building.

(Single family house; Madrid, Spain; 2007-8; Collaboration with Pedro Quero) In a plot with very small dimensions (154m2) and very conditioned by the mandatory façade set-backs of the local planning, we propose a novel concept of distribution of domestic spaces. The basement, which is not affected by the set-back rule and can therefore be a more generous internal space, hosts the daily life spaces (living room, dining room and kitchen) and receives natural illumination through a sunken cortyard. The ground floor has a bridge-access, a welcoming covered porche, a back garden with mini-swimming pool and in the interior of the house a space of flexible use (studio, library, guests bedroom) open towards the back garden. The first floor is dedicated to bedrooms and bathroom and opens up towards the morning sun. The staircases, with is flanked by a triple height void up to the skylight, gives access to the roof deck where one can enjoy barbeques or simply lie under the sun.

(Transformation of workshop into creative studio; Madrid, Spain; 2007) An inner-town neighbourhood that is not gentrified yet (Tetuán), a former print room (Imprenta Larra), an opportunity for a group of dynamic creators (Studio Banana). The multifaceted identity of Studio Banana, working environment, creative interchange environment and cultural debate environment, is expressed in its spatial organisation. The former garage ramp is turned into a staircase that also doubles as exhibition space and auditorium for events (conferences, debates and projections). The central space is a plaza for common use onto which the kitchen, the toilets and the meeting room open up. The 8 workshops are located around the plaza.

(Transformation of bodega into art collection; Jerez de la Frontera, Spain; 2006; Collaboration with Alfonso Merry) Located at the edge of the Jerez’s Mediaeval Arab fortification, Bodega Tradición is surrounded by a number of notorious but ruinous buildings which, if linked, can form a large and rich ensemble. The project proposes a long-term vision of how the present-day sherry bodega can still function in the future in combination with the creation of a space dedicated to the Joaquin Rivero classical art collection, including painting of Goya, Greco and Zurbarán amongst others. The architectural ensemble would be articulated around the Plaza de Cordobeses and include part of the Bodega Tradición, the abandoned Rincón Malillo bodega and the ruinous Renaissance Riquelme Palace.

(Information distribution system, Madrid Abierto, 2006-2007) The annual public art programme Madrid Abierto requires an information beacon that advertises the artistic interventions in the centre of the city. The strategy we conceive is double: active and passive. A mobile green house meanders around different hot spots in the city distributing graphic information and giving indications about the art pieces and the artists. We distribute thousands of plastic bags with printed information amongst the network of hundreds of “Chinese” shops (corner shop in central Madrid). These bags are used in the conventional way, dispersing the information in unpredictable manners.

(New media exhibition design; Gijón, Spain; 2006-2007) The new Art and Industrial Creation Centre of La Laboral in Gijón opens to the public with two parallel exhibitions that focus on the use of new technologies in present day art. The show Cyberspaces puts together a selection of ten international artists with pieces dealing with digital technologies and virtual networks. The exhibition concept that we chose is based on the accumulation of ten cocoons that host ten artists in an autonomous and individualised but grouped arrangement. Each space consists of a box of varying dimensions that is suspended from the trusses of the gallery room like a web or entangled conglomerate. Their light-permeable walls consist of a sandwich construction of polycarbonate and polystyrene panels that allow the interior projections to be seen in a blurry way from the exterior of the cocoon. This gives a global image of the whole exhibition to the visitor before he or she enters each individual space.

(Proposal for an immaterial space, 2006; Collaboration with Jorge Cano) The common practice of architecture tends to prefer the definition of space with rigid and opaque limits that create the feeling of being “inside”. Can we overcome the strict equation light-solid mass? Our perception says that this is possible: a cloud, a valley filled up with fog, the smoke from a fireplace… also generate space but they are defined with fluid, not solid, limits The physical properties of matter in state of transformation between solid and gas (smoke, cloud, steam, fog, dust cloud…) guarantee the presence of suspended particles that can act as reflectors of a projected Light. This is the basic architectural principle of SMOKE HOUSE: difused edges, semi-virtual walls, fragile membranes, non gravitational materials. anas frágiles, materiales ingrávidos. Equally to Semper’s notion of the primeval hut, the SMOKE HOUSE does not intend to become a livable flat, but an intimate space fabricated with minimal material means, in this case smoke and laser light beams.

(Proposal for two houses; Somao, Spain; 2006) An unquiet client with a sloping site towards the Cantabrian sea at the foot of a eucalyptus forest needs two houses, similar and different to each other at once. Trying to make maximum profit of the beautiful views to the north and the sunlight to the south we propose two bodies the roofs of which are lifted towards the south in the format of skylights and are compressed towards the north in the shape of a panoramic veranda. At the same time, the volume of each house is divided into two rotated pieces of lesser impact that help to integrate the project in the typical Asturian dispersed settlement landscape.

(Interactive light proposal, 2006) “Light as you move” consists of an interactive light display. The main idea is that the light is generated by the user’s presence, while in his/her absence the room would just be an empty and dark box. Using LED units and tactile sensors we propose a touch-sensitive light tray that clads the floor and reacts to pressure with light of varying intensity and duration. Like the trace of a comet, we would like to trace with light the itinerary of the “Light as you move” space. Thus, it is not a prospective light that illuminates our path but a retrospective one that signs in time our footsteps. The touch-sensitive light panels are built as a sandwich with several layers: a tactile sensor display, a tray of LUMEX type light emitters assembled on top of an electronic base. The panels can be arranged easily in different dimensions and could become a marketed product with diverse applications: children games, emergency lighting in dark spaces…

(Public art commission; Madrid, Spain; 2005-2006; Collaboration with Maki Portilla-Kawamura and Tadanori Yamaguchi) We believe that Plaza de Colón in central Madrid should maintain the communicative character we attribute to the person it is named after. Now, more than five centuries after that first contact, we suggest using this agora to highlight the contemporary state of relationships between Europe and Latin America. The entangled social melting pot of Madrid contains new emerging communities, consisting chiefly of immigrants from Latin American. In our communication society, call centres perform a catalytic function for the recently arrived communities. They are the physical vortices of an indefinite but dense mesh of local relationships, and also a medium of global relationships.

(Sculpture park proposal; Competition; Navacerrada, Spain; 2006; Collaboration with Maki Portilla-Kawamura and Tadanori Yamaguchi) Looking at the mountainous landscape around Navacerrada (30 minutes north of Madrid), we were mesmerised by the impressive and monumental granite stone outcrops. The proposal consisted in bringing a scaled-down version of these stunning geological features into the park of this small village. The domesticated stone landscape, made out of granite stone but with a multi-layered topography, reminiscent of models and cartographic surveys, becomes an intriguing element in the park. Children can play with it, elderly people can sit and chat around it, youngsters can lay on it…

(Exhibition space; León, Spain; 2005) Peruvian artist Sandra Gamarra was invited to participate in the opening exhibition “Emergencies” at the MUSAC museum in León. Her project LiMac, a simulacrum of a contemporary art museum, required suddenly a space to host it. The constructive logic of LiMac, oil painting reproducing publications of art pieces by other artists, was translated into an architectural concept. LiMac disguises itself as a miniature MUSAC, with its zigzagging walls and colourful exterior, playing a mirroring and appropriative trick, as if in a Russian dolls game.

(Refurbishment of flat; Paris, Spain; 2004) To buy, to rent, but still to live occasionally. The concept of le home was to make living–storing–renting possible in one space. The essence of the home was developed as a concept for our more frequent traveller that decides to purchase property abroad and wants to benefit from renting it the days that he/she is working elsewhere. These co-inhabitational terms have the potential of becoming revolutionary due to the increasingly mobile living patterns and the high property prices in our main world capitals. One of the main objectives was to maximise infrastructure and storage permitting different layers of use within the same space but with diverse users from one day to another.

(Refurbishment of flat; Paris, France; 2004) To buy, to rent, but still to live occasionally. The concept of le home was to make living–storing–renting possible in one space. The essence of the home was developed as a concept for our more frequent traveller that decides to purchase property abroad and wants to benefit from renting it the days that he/she is working elsewhere. These co-inhabitational terms have the potential of becoming revolutionary due to the increasingly mobile living patterns and the high property prices in our main world capitals. One of the main objectives was to maximise infrastructure and storage permitting different layers of use within the same space but with diverse users from one day to another.

(Single family house; Tenzuela, Segovia, Spain; 2004) Vista House is an intervention in a traditional stone barn house with stunning views of the distant mountainous landscape. The owner, who lives next door, wants to turn it into a guest house. The strategy consists of building a house inside the existing barn, thus creating a series of layered transitions from the outside to the inside.

(Mobile cultural information centre; Madrid, Spain; 2004) The Madrid city council organises an array of cultural activities of all sorts but lacks a physical point where they are advertised and explained to the citizens. La Nave is an information centre located in a central public plaza where people can find out the next concerts, theatre plays etc., get further information about them and buy tickets. Two crossed haulage containers house a deskpoint, a cafe and a mini internet centre.

(Public art competition, first prize, not realised; Madrid, Spain; 2004; Collaboration with Maki Portilla-Kawamura and Tadanori Yamaguchi) In the 125th anniversary of the Circulo de Bellas Artes we have decided to pay a tribute to its flagship, the building erected in 1926 by Antonio Palacios following the aestheticised rules of Art Deco. We feel attracted by the solidity of its façade, however we are not interested in working with the “presences” but with the “absences”. This building seems to belong to a series of architectures that enjoy a volumetric disequilibrium, mainly based on its incomplete symmetry. Where is the missing turret? Absent? Is this an incomplete building? Jean Baudrillard told us that a simulacrum is a “copy without original”. Cand we build a symmetric simulacrum? A mirror/mirage of the turret of the Circulo de Bellas Artes? Thus, we proceed to mirror copy the existing turret; however, from the original one we only keep the volume and we create a reproduction in a scaffolding skeleton. A twin brother has appeared to the Art Deco turret.

(Urban lighting proposal; Cranbrook Estate, London, UK; 2004; Collaboration with Harry Paticas) A dynamic lighting proposal for the six towers on the Cranbrook Estate in Bethnal Green, East London, designed by renowned architect Lubetkin. The changing pattern and colour of light projected onto the flying cornices at the top of each tower is linked to the phases of the moon, thus establishing a collective rhythm for the estate and a connection to the celestial sphere. Differentiation through lighting of the otherwise all-too-similar towers strengthens the sense of community and pride as well as triggers comparison and communication. Initial consultations with the residents and the local planning department have been positive. Project is awaiting funding and further consultation.

(Multimedia exhibition; Zurich, Switzerland; 2003) In October 2003 an exhibition about Electronic Music during the 1980’s and 1990’s was organised by Frederike Hansen in the Shedhalle gallery in Zürich. Due to the non-visual nature of the material on show (vinyl albums, CDs, videotapes, books), the display installation was going to become the most eye-catching aspect of the exhibition. Using a few images as basic grammatical elements (the freight lorry in which the acoustic material arrived at the gallery, the fully interactive-fully technological exterior-interior faces of a mobile phone, the hyper personal space of sound-proof recording cabins and the landscapes of continuity of skate-parks) we combined them in a simple syntactic exercise. The result is a sliced-up prism made out of timber frames and stretched recycled lorry fabric. Each slice can slide in virtue of its wheels, thus revealing a gap through which the visitor can access the interior. A landscape of inflated and illuminated bouncy balls provided improvised seating to browse through the music and literature on display.

(Transformation of Victorian loft; London, UK; 2003) A penthouse in a 19th century warehouse building with a roof-top terrace was renovated. The intervention was aimed at simplifying the spatial configuration of the flat and consisted of an accumulation of small projects which were executed sequentially (toilet, staircase, fireplace...).

(Speculative urban proposal; East London, UK; 2001-2002)Space Search Engine was set up as a company operating in East London for the period of 12 months. During this time it dealt with the vacant spaces and derelict buildings in this part of London. This empty vacant city is overlapped with the inhabited city that we know. The Urban Thermometer mapped regularly the territory (an updated inventory every 2 months) with the help of some agents (postmen, roamers and squatters) producing a new cartography of the vacant city. The Urban Thermometer also approached the owners, estate agents or institutions that owned these sites asking for temporary leases to use them. The Vacant Gaze, in parallel, approached the same sites in a more sensorial way, discovering their history, the traces of memory and inhabitation, through a series of highly intiuitive filmings. As a colophon to the project an event was organised, the 30 minutes museum.

(Contemplative space; Turón Valley, Spain; 2002-2004; Collaboration with Maki Portilla-Kawamura and Tadanori Yamaguchi) In the mining region of Asturias, two contrasting landscapes live side by side: the post-industrial relics such as abandoned mines and coal slag heaps, and natural landscapes of outstanding beauty. In this border context we proposed an underground space inside an abandoned slag heap next to the mine Pozo Espinos. The restoration and conversion of the premises into an interpretation centre was financed by the regional authorities of the Principado de Asturias. The project recreates in an abstract way the underground feeling inside a coal mine and at the same time it highlights the most remarkable aspects of the surrounding natural-industrial landscape. It consists of an elongated space that allows to be crossed through as in a promenade through the geology, history, ecology and society of this valley that is presently undergoing a deep upheaval. The belvedere under a slage heap is dedicated to the memory of Yoshi Kawamura whose soul rests in this landscape.

(Spatial design of art fair; Madrid, Spain; 2001; Collaboration with Vicente Salvador) The contemporary art fair ARCO gathers annually more than 200.000 visitors who roam and stroll the 200 stands housing the different galleries that come here from around the world. In such a hectic atmosphere, overloaded with visual information, spatial orientation and public space are scarce. For the 2002 ARCO edition, a distribution and spatial organisation project was realised. The main features of this design were communications differentiation (generating a main network and a secondary network of circulation spaces) and the arrangement of chill-outs, small hide-outs and crossroads for the public to rest and for a choral enjoyment of art’s experience. The specific design of each of these locations was commissioned to a different artist, architect or designer.

(Conversion of Victorian flat; London, UK; 2000-2003) The conversion of a Victorian flat in East London was taken as an opportunity to retrace its own inherited history through the subsequent layers left behind by its inhabitants during the last century. The process was primarily subtractive, rather than additive, peeling off layers of wall paper, revealing blocked-off fire places, bringing to light its original wooden floor… In conjunction with these operations, the surrounding neighbourhood was used as a source of recycled material: cast iron bath tub, old slate roof tiles, discarded bricks… Thus the house became a piece of living history, for itself and for the surroundings. At a later stage, the flat rooftop was refurbished into a panoramic terrace with a conservatory accessible through a cast iron spiral staircase.