MAP 13

Biography

MAP13 is a collective of architects based in Barcelona, Spain, formed by Marta Domènech Rodríguez, David López López and Mariana Palumbo Fernández.

They understand architecture as a continuous research process focused on transforming the environment, ingeniously making use of available social and natural resources. Looking at the boundaries of architecture and focusing on material science, structural engineering and construction processes, is the starting point of their approach. In Map13 Barcelona’s work, both tradition and innovation are indistinctively used as sources of knowledge and inspiration. They seek to recover the wisdom of traditional construction techniques, updating them to efficiently respond to present-day challenges by combining the latest computational design tools with ‘low tech’ solutions. Map13 Barcelona considers its projects to be unique opportunities to organise collaborative hands-on workshops where citizens and masons work hand in hand. Open constructions allow the participation of the prospective users of the building, creating a community around it and allowing an early appropriation of the space. The spaces that have been abandoned or refused by society are thus returned to the people.