Talk by alumni Marcos Catalán, winner of the Interiorism FAD Award 2023

Marcos Catalán, alumni from the Degree in Design, will hold a speech about “Un cortijo jamonero en Extremadura”, his project awarded with the Interiorism FAD 2023 award and the Bienal de Arquitectura Española y Urbanismo BEAU XVI 2023 award. The event will take place the upcoming 20th of November at 7:00pm at Sala Aleix Carrió.

Cortijo jamonero is the result of an intervention to an existent ancient house, linked during many years to livestock exploitation. The house considered strengthens and recovers the local typology of the ‘country house’, splitting the program in different changing geometry bodies, supporting the landscape integration, as if it were a rural town. Combining itself with the existent walls, the house considers a South-oriented access through the patio, reaching a sequence of exterior spaces between oaks and rocks.

The construction of the whole project has been carried out with a great grade of craft work, they selected stone, slate and granite from a nearby stone quarry; they cut down and dried the chestnut logs that later on would be used for the beams, furniture and carpentry; the concrete from the perimetral edge beams, chimneys and handwasher contain sand and gravel from the zone; and the copper was also manipulated to make in situ the whole faucets.

With the aim of bringing the house closer to the landscape and opening it to the exterior, a series of openings are suggested through big wooden frames that not only put in frame the landscape, but also lighten and ventilate the broad lounges. These boxes are inhabited windows: artefacts that contain sofas, shelves, benches… and put in domesticity that the interior of a house demands. This way, the facades become a reflection of this interior instead of purely compositive criteria.

Marcos Catalán, graduated in Design by Elisava School in 1997 and after collaborating in different architecture studios, founds “Marcos Catalán, Studio” in 2006, developing architecture, interiorism and product design integral projects. In 2017, he partners Marta García Orte, with whom works currently in the architecture and design studio “Marcos Catalán & Marta García Orte”.

In it, projects are developed in a precise, rigorous and rational way, including in a special way the sensorial aspects. The pieces are confectioned for each circumstance as a tailored suit, aspiring to improve the experience on the places in which they intervene. Each project is elaborated with the adequate tools and collaborating team, outlining a strategy in each case that takes them to produce simple, beautiful and functional pieces, understanding that the best way of sustainability is obtaining long-lasting results.

The studio counts with a wide experience of more than 15 years. His work has been recognized with many awards (FAD awards, Bienal de arquitectura de las comarcas de Girona, Bienal de arquitectura española, Saloni awards…) and thoroughly spread in specialized magazines.

Organized by: Master in Interior Design and Postgraduate in Interior Space Design. Private Perimeters