Kein land für alte Männer

TEAM DATA

Team Representative:  Juan Marcos Rodríguez (ES)  – architect;  Associates:  Iñaki Llorens (ES), Conxa Gené (ES), Carmen Largacha (ES), Joan Alomar (ES), Javier Íñigo (ES) – architects & urban designers

Estudio Lunar
europan@estudiolunar.nl – www.estudiolunar.nl

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^{C. Gené, J. M. Rodríguez, I. Llorens, C. Largacha, J. Íñigo and J. Alomar}

INTERVIEW

1. How did you form the team for the competition?

In 2012 we founded Estudio Lunar in Rotterdam with the idea of a creative platform to answer our architectural concerns together with other professionals such as graphic designers and engineers. As a reaction to the current professional working methods Estudio Lunar practices an engaged polytechnical approach to improve the quality of life in our society. Europan was a perfect platform to confront some of our ideas. One year and a half later we got one of the best results we could ever imagine.

2. How do you define the main issue of your project, insisting on how you answered on this session main topic: adaptability and urban rhythms?

The opportunity of Regionale 2016 is at the same time its challenge. Enhancing a collective idea of public space will reproduce new social structures that could help improve the quality of life in privately owned houses in Germany, respecting the urban fabrics and the life of residents. Different strategies must be implemented in relationship to the different urban a social environmental context.

3. How did this issue and the questions raised by the site mutation meet?

The adaptability of the project lies in the chance given to the inhabitants and local associations to develop their own urban strategies, supported by authorities and governmental entities. A more flexible idea of the city together with a long term planning allows the different parts involved in the process to contribute to the collective goal of more sustainable neighborhoods for the future.

4. Have you already treated this issue previously and could you present some reference projects that inspired yours?

We have being working before on the idea of collective services as a future solution for shrinkage and inspirational source for urban development. Our insights come from the direct perception of the problem but lots of references are embedded in our project: the Südstadt French Quarter of Tübingen (DE) or the Oosterworld district of Almere (NL) are contemporary sources of inspiration for us, together with classic examples such as Siedlung Halen in Bern (CH).

5. Today –within the era of an economic crisis and sustainability– the urban-architectural project should reconsider its production method in time; how did you integrate this issue in your project?

We have been developing a different concept on sustainability since last year. Considering the current economical crisis and the stagnation of urban and architectural models we recently felt forced to think beyond high-tech design and complex building. Further from vernacular solutions we believe in sustainability as a designing tool considering time as a crucial factor to approach new solutions and designs. If we could be able to think beyond present time, design become longer, longer than the human life that makes it last. That is sustainability for us.

6. Is it the first time you have been awarded a prize at Europan? How could this help you in your professional career?

In the Estudio Lunar team we have J. Marcos Rodríguez who was runner-up in 2009 for Europan 10 Genova (IT) and Iñaki Llorens who was winner for Europan 8 Stavanger (NO) while he was student. These two Europan 12 awards seems for us a great opportunity to boost ourselves and head off our professional path, supported by our previous achievements and experiences in renowned offices in Spain and The Netherlands. Furthermore we see Europan as a platform and channel to express our ideas.