selgascano

Selgascano's practice began in Madrid in 1992, established a dedicated workspace in 1996, and relocated in 2006 to their current studio, named the Office in the Woods – notably, the most visited project on Archdaily to date– Conceived as a small-scale workshop, the studio has always intended to preserve its intimate scale. José Selgas and Lucía Cano tend to refrain from giving public lectures, choosing instead to devote themselves entirely to their projects.

Each commission is approached as a distinct complexity, with its own internal logic and personality. History, memory, economy, perception, and nature form the core elements that inevitably shape the architectural response. This outcome is refined through the architects' complete involvement in the construction process, understood as a continuous, attentive dialogue with all elements at play –from fabrication to installation– coupled with an ongoing investigation into how conventional solutions might be reinterpreted and streamlined for architectural use.

The studio has always avoided the use of devices and mechanisms stemming from personal disciplinary concerns, instead pursuing a form of beauty that can be understood by any human being. In every project, and increasingly so, it is essential for the studio that architecture relinquish as much space as possible to nature, and that the presence of the built environment be minimised or reduced to those elements which, through artificial means and the application of technologies borrowed from fields rarely associated with architecture, enable the emergence of future forms of nature.

Texts

• The Prodigious Builders. Three Encounters with selgascano
  Inmaculada Maluenda and Enrique Encabo
• Fun Palaces: The Architecture of selgascano
  Philip Ursprung

Works and projects

• Kibera Hamlets School
• La Canaria House
• Bookshop on Hanbury Street
• Second Home Hanbury
• Martell Pavilion
• Second Home Holland Park
• Bruges Triennial Bathing Pavilion
• Second Home Hollywood [HolLA]
• Los Rincones House
• Design District Canteen
• EM Business School
• Horse Museum and Hotel
• House in Fuente de Pajares
• Bailuwan Town
• Coffee and Sea [Chiringuito Café]
• Tramo Restaurant
• Beijing Xicheng Exhibition Hall
• Valentina Hotel
• Rozafa Hotel Tower
• Sky-K
• Studio Extension