This summer, we took a short break and swapped our home to spend some days in Köln, Germany. Traveling with kids means moving at a slow pace. Walking, cycling, exploring without hurry but with purpose. Our route was guided by two remarkable architects: Rudolf Schwarz, who rebuilt with material honesty after WWII, and Heinz Bienefeld, whose intimate, handcrafted buildings carry forward Schwarz’s sense of spirituality.

North Rhine-Westphalia revealed itself as a treasure trove of post-war architecture, with highlights such as Mies van der Rohe’s Haus Esters and Haus Lange, Erwin Heerich’s sculptural works at Hombroich, and Peter Zumthor’s Kolumba Museum and Bruder-Klaus-Feldkapelle. Visiting architecture is part of our practice, and we always return with something new. Now back to work!

This spring at EINA, we teamed up with David Steegmann to lead ‘Recursos’ — a design studio inspired by Georges Perec and Federico Soriano, where students explored how form and narrative can come together to imagine new ways of living. Thank you to all the students who were part of it!

Our proposal for an intervention at Palau Robert presented as part of the AJAC programme explored the idea of relocating domestic tasks to the public realm. By doing so, it invites reflection on the daily comfort of having clean running water at home—a privilege that is neither universal nor guaranteed.

The installation was inspired by the historical figure of the aiguader—a person who once carried and sold water in cities across Catalonia and Spain. Before municipal systems, water was collected from springs or wells and transported in clay vessels, either by professionals or by members of each household.

Recreating this process in a participatory way, the installation invites visitors to fetch water, fill a càntir, carry it to the artefact, perform a domestic task, observe the waste produced, and filter the remaining water for reuse. The act makes visible the effort once required to access water—and challenges the ease with which we waste it today.

The design references large public basins, kitchen sinks, and baptismal fonts: architectures where water once played a central role in daily and collective life. The labour of water collection has been widely documented, from the photographs of Artur Pastor and Kurt Hielscher, to paintings such as El Aguador de Sevilla (1620) by Diego Velázquez, La Aguadora (1808–1812) by Francisco de Goya, Thirst (1886) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and the poem El retorn (1934) by Maria Antònia Salvà.

Ripoll‘s Sports Centre has been awarded First Prize Ex Aequo at the Premis Comarques de Girona.

We are truly honoured by this recognition, which celebrates not only the design but also the vital role this public facility plays today. From the outset, it was conceived as a place for the community—shaped by its context, its landscape, and the resources at hand. For us, it was a dream-opportunity to work at a larger scale, materialised as a humble yet robust project. This award acknowledges a vision that goes beyond pure aesthetics and speaks to the broader role of the architect. We thank everyone involved.

We answered a few questions about Alba & Oriol’s house in the Spring issue No. 196 of  Neo2 Magazine. We talked about our connection to Colombia, rural houses, concrete bricks, plants, and Catalan poultry farms. Thank you, Javier!

The galerías —or verandas—of the haciendas are a defining feature of colonial Colombian architecture. These in-between spaces give shelter from the sun while extending indoor spaces into the landscape. Sometimes light and airy in timber, other times grounded by thick, weighty columns, they adapt to both place and purpose.

For Oriol & Alba’s house, since creating a patio was not possible due to the building code, the image of Colombia’s Haciendas immediately came to mind. We embraced the galería as a way to expand the house outward, carefully sizing it to provide shade from the southern sun in summer while allowing warmth to filter in during winter. Solid pillars, matching the thickness of the walls, establish a steady rhythm in contradiction with the delicate overhang of the roof.

The transformation is palpable as we approach the final stage of Ana and Oscar’s penthouse renovation in Barcelona. Walls have given way to openness, making Tibidabo and the city an ever-present backdrop to daily life. Natural mortar infuses the space with warmth, creating a calm Mediterranean retreat above the city.

Stay tuned, more info soon!

In Oriol & Alba’s House, an oddly bittersweet twist unfolded. A non-structural pillar, quietly standing in the garden, was meant to represent continuity—until the final inspection arrived. Deemed outside regulation, despite being initially approved, the pillar had to be demolished. Could it not be a garden sculpture? A Strelitzia now blooms where it once stood, next to its remaining foundations.