Beyond Geometry | Guillem Carrera on Materiality & Architecture

The main challenge was to translate the Lambda-shaped geometry from the architectural concept into a precise and coherent construction system. The particular geometry generates multiple points of intersection between the different spaces, structures, façades, and roof planes, which required a high level of coordination throughout the project.

Precision was therefore essential, especially in the transitions between the interior and exterior spaces. Rather than simplifying the geometry during construction, we worked to ensure that each junction, material, and structural element responded accurately to the original design intent.

Another key aspect was achieving this precision without compromising the practicality and efficiency of the construction process. This required detailed development of the construction details, close coordination between the different trades, and continuous control on site.

Ultimately, the challenge was not simply to build an unconventional shape, but to make the geometry work at every scale — from the overall relationship with the landscape down to the smallest construction detail — while maintaining the continuity between architecture, structure, materials, and outdoor space.

Our approach begins with a deep reading of the site—its topography, climate, solar exposure, and orientation. These conditions become the starting point for a layered design strategy, integrating cross-ventilation, natural light, and solar control into the architecture.

From the structure to the envelope, every layer is carefully considered. Materials, façades, and roofs are studied in detail to create an architecture that responds to its environment, optimizes its performance, and emerges naturally from the specific conditions of the place.

Ideally, technology should be integrated into the design process from the very beginning, allowing it to become an inherent part of the architecture rather than something added afterwards. It should be present when needed, yet remain discreet and unobtrusive within the spaces.

We give equal consideration to natural and artificial light, carefully designing different lighting scenes to shape the atmosphere and experience of the home. These environments can adapt to the user’s mood, routines, or activities throughout the day.

For us, the home should also act as a sanctuary — a place to retreat from the constant stimulation and interaction of everyday life. It should provide the conditions for rest, reconnection, and the restoration of essential aspects of our well-being, including the nervous system.

Today, many of these principles are discussed under the term “neuroarchitecture,” but they are not new to our practice. We have been exploring the relationship between architecture, sensory experience, and well-being for many years.

For us, smart home technology is simply another layer of the building, considered alongside its conventional installations from the very beginning of the design process.

Every project therefore incorporates dedicated horizontal and vertical service routes, carefully sized not only for the systems required today, but also to allow for future technologies and upgrades. These routes extend beyond the interior of the house and into the outdoor areas, making future maintenance or technological changes possible without significantly affecting the architecture.

Of course, these systems inevitably have an influence on the building’s architecture and spatial organization. We aim to anticipate this from the outset and integrate the necessary infrastructure as discreetly as possible, so that technology remains present and adaptable without becoming visually or spatially dominant.

We want our architecture to evoke genuine emotions—emotions that arise from the experience of real materials, textures, and spaces. Materials that can be seen, touched, and felt; materials that reveal themselves through the way a space is inhabited and through its relationship with the surrounding environment.

For us, these qualities are not something that needs to be invented. They’re inherent to the materials themselves, which is precisely why they have been part of architecture for centuries. Nature provides us with these materials and, in many ways, teaches us how to use them. Our role as architects is to understand their qualities, their behavior, and the relationships they can establish with one another.

When these relationships are carefully considered, materials can go beyond their physical function and become an essential part of the emotional experience of architecture.

Our practice is multidisciplinary by nature, bringing together architects, structural engineers, building services and systems engineers, energy specialists, technical architects responsible for quality and construction, as well as experts in home automation, landscape design, and gardening.

This integrated approach allows us to address every aspect of a project from the outset, ensuring that architectural, technical, environmental, and landscape decisions are developed as part of a coherent whole.

It also means that we can accompany our clients throughout the entire process—from the initial architectural concept and interior design to construction, landscaping, and the final details of the home. For us, this continuity is essential: it allows us to maintain a clear vision of the project while ensuring that every decision contributes to the same architectural and spatial experience.

When you are starting and have no built work to show, attracting that first client can be one of the greatest challenges. You begin with smaller projects, and as you complete them, they gradually demonstrate the value and commitment your practice can bring.

Eventually, a more significant project can become a turning point—generating visibility and attracting the kind of clients we aspire to work with: knowledgeable people who have a clear vision of what they are looking for, and value good architecture regardless of the scale of the investment. They understand that an architect can contribute something beyond simply delivering a building.

Over time, as your portfolio grows and you have a body of completed work to show, the relationship with the client also evolves. We increasingly work with discerning clients who know what they want and have high expectations. Our responsibility is to deliver everything they ask for, but also to go one step further—to contribute something unexpected, something they may not have imagined themselves, and ultimately exceed their initial expectations.

For us, that is where the real value of architecture lies: not simply in fulfilling a brief, but in discovering opportunities within it and creating something better than what was initially imagined.

Architecture is a profession in which you never stop learning. Every project, every challenge, and every day brings an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and to see things from a different perspective. Regardless of age or experience, it is essential to preserve that curiosity and never lose the desire to keep learning.

Perseverance, commitment, and a strong sense of responsibility are equally important. But beyond technical knowledge, I believe an architect should have a genuine understanding of the role architecture can play in improving people’s lives and contributing positively to society.