“The simple things are the hardest to achieve”

What is the most important thing you have learned over your years as an architect?

That every project is unique, and that you have to look for the essence of each one of them to find a logical response for them. The budget, the location and the conditions of the plot of land are all more important than the architect.

Is vocation fundamental?

Architecture is a very tough degree that entails a great deal of responsibility and if you aren’t passionate about it, you can’t handle it. In my case, everything I experienced as a child combines with my urge to solve the problems I encounter in each project.

What are your earliest memories in this regard?

I remember how my father designed building alterations in his office, drawing with his paralex, which was the old way of drawing straight lines without the aid of technology, by hand, using concentration and skill. I also remember when I drew basketball courts.

After finishing your degree, the experience you had in San Francisco made a mark on you in some way.

Yes, the place where I learned the most on a personal level was San Francisco, above all with the personnel management in Ted Korth’s teams. He used to take me to meetings in Silicon Valley, he talked to me about a lot of things, he was really good to me and I thought that if I ever led a team one day, I would behave in the same way as he did towards us.

What recollections do you have of that time in Silicon Valley?

I was there from 2005 to 2006, and it exuded a very positive energy, there was so much essence; back then there was a garage on every corner where Stanford students were working like crazy to create something that would change the world.

What differences can you see between the way buildings are constructed in the United States and in Mallorca?

Over there they build using wooden structures, which you hardly ever see here. In the US, there isn’t an ancient culture like ours, we have more architectural sensitivity here. Although it is more usual to see large-scale constructions there, which would be difficult to undertake in Mallorca.

You have been running your own studio since you were 26.

Yes, the entrepreneurial spirit of California influenced me in this, as did the freedom I saw my father had when running his own business. I like to make my own decisions and take on responsibilities without having to be accountable to anyone.

How would you define yourself as an architect?

I try to provide a geometric response to today’s demands taking local materials and our climate into account. The importance lies in uniting the outside space with the inside. I like simple things, which are usually the hardest to achieve, because to achieve a distribution or a geometry that seems simple, a lot of work has to be done to simplify all the complexity that any building poses.

Simple things are harder work than ostentatious ones?

Yes. Attaining a distribution or layout that looks simple and which simultaneously fulfils all the client’s requisites requires a great deal of work.

What is the most important part of a home?

It is essential for it to be welcoming and in harmony with whoever lives in it. Beyond fashions, a house has to be timeless, warm and adapted to the needs of the people who live in it.

Can architecture transform cities?

Yes. Bilbao is an example of that. With the Guggenheim alone, it has gone from being an industrial town to one of the most-visited in Spain. Because of a single building.

And how could Palma improve?

The Paseo Marítimo needs to be transformed, the connection with [...]

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