Integrating nature is one of the axes guiding AGi architects' proposal for Sama'a Wafra, a high-rise residential complex located in Hessa Al Mubarak, which will be Kuwait's first mixed-use district. In December 2018 we responded to an international competition by invitation for the design of the new building. AGi architects, which is currently developing other housing complexes … [Read more...]
Architecture and the automobile, between utopia and dystopia
This article explores the relationship between architecture and the automobile based on the literature and urban theory of the second half of the 20th century. In April 1957, Jack Kerouac spent 20 days writing relentlessly about a trio of travelers hitchhiking across the United States aboard Cadillacs, Chevys and trucks. Inspired by his own travels, Kerouac wrote On the Road … [Read more...]
Revisions of the modern kitchen. Italian radical design and German good design
In the last blog article, we examined the emergence of the modern kitchen. In the seventies and eighties, two cultural events contributed to the current understanding of the cooking space. We address them in the following post: kitchen as possibility and the kitchen for cooking. During the first half of the 20th century, the fundamental concepts of modern domestic space … [Read more...]
A tour through AGi architects’ projects in Spain
In this article we present an itinerary through the projects that AGi architects has built or is currently developing in Spain, since the completion of 'La Ascensión' Church in 2013. At the moment, we are also developing two major works to intervene in the Spanish architectonic heritage: the restoration and musealization of 18 settlements of the Bronze and Iron Ages in … [Read more...]
Designing the modern kitchen. The transformation of the kitchen in the 20th century
The kitchen is one of the most complex spaces in the house. Heart and machine of the house, it has been the testing space of modernity and a reflection of consumer society, in the form of appliances, utensils, colours and shapes. It has also been a mirror of the daily habits and cultural patterns. This article travels along two important moments in the history of the modern … [Read more...]
Manara Mall. New project by AGi architects
As you travel along Jahra Road to the west, a bright coloured block marks the presence of Manara Mall. Passing by, the building acquires different colours, going from greenish to yellowish tones, finally showing an intense maroon. The vibrant color finish on the exterior of Manara Mall appeals to the view from the automobile. The car is the observation point par excellence of … [Read more...]
The Museum, Heritage and territorial identity II. The Museum of Modern Art
Between Spain and Kuwait. The influence of Modernity The idea of a museum of modern art in 20th-century Spain, and the possibility of an equally modern architecture to house it, was a project that was advanced and frustrated, time after time, until the arrival of the current democratic period. The institution of the Museum of Modern Art in Spain dates back to 1894, as shown … [Read more...]
Vivero Ilustrado. A proposal for the Square of the Duchess of Osuna
During the 18th century, the Dukes of Osuna owned up as much as 180 hectares of land in the northwest of the city of Madrid. In that area they built the Palacio del Capricho, an aristocratic country property surrounded by a large garden, the sole Romantic park in Madrid, as well as other buildings such as stables and the service house. Today, next to the Palacio del Capricho … [Read more...]
Mirador del Egüés. Bioclimatic dwellings in the Ecocity of Sarriguren
Valle de Egüés is a municipality located in the metropolitan area of Pamplona, north Spain, composed by several small towns. The capital of this valley is Sarriguren, a eco-friendly urban area settled in 1998. This eco-city is a pilot initiative of bioclimatic architecture and urbanism. In 2000, it was classified as "Good Practice" by the United Nations Centre for Human … [Read more...]
Life as architectural performance
Architecture atlas. The Eames: choreographing domestic life The designer couple Ray y Charles Eames lived in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in a small, sunny home made of steel and glass and surrounded by trees. The iconic example of Modern domestic architecture, today considered a landmark of Los Angeles, began in the early 1940s. At that time, the couple of designers had … [Read more...]