Less is more. But can we do more with less?

We invite you to discover it on March 19th at Roca Barcelona Gallery at 7 p.m.

Architecture Now! is the late-night show format encounter that takes place between the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, hosted by Núria Moliner and Roca.

No budget

In this new session of Architecture Now!, we will talk about architecture and money, without filters or taboos. How much does a house cost? What is the price of a good project?

Tight budgets, cuts, inflation, unforeseen expenses; the daily bread in an architecture studio. Despite the difficulties, many architects post-bubble have managed to navigate through one crisis after another and continue to survive in an unstable and precarious sector. With dedication and ingenuity, they keep their practice afloat and turn impossible commissions and often laughable budgets around.

Without romanticizing what is not worthy or losing sight of needs, privileges, and ideals, we will delve into architectural creation subject to economic resources. We will see how 3 reference studios make a virtue out of necessity. For example, creating a house for €70K, refurbishing an apartment with only €10K, or adapting to a 90% budget cut for a public facility. With them, we will stay grounded and question to what extent good architecture—or architecture in general—is possible with so little.

Guests:

Martí Obiols

Project: Casa Barberà, €70K

"Martí, I have €60,000 to build the house." That's how the Casa Barberà project started, a self-built house by Oriol, his brother, and some friends. It has been built in just 97 days and has cost only €70,350 + taxes. It has 105m2 built + terrace + porch. This means €670/m2. Besides, it's a passive house.

Sara Torres and Èlia Bagó

Project: Sociedad 0

They are an artistic collective formed by designers who created their own shared living and working space in a warehouse in Poblenou—before it became trendy—and later in l’Hospitalet, as the spearhead of the creative movement transforming the city. Sociedad0 gradually adapted those industrial buildings as habitable spaces and for communal living, with zero resources. From there, they started working on projects with laughable budgets, blending art and design with an aesthetic bordering on punk. However, they have become a reference studio—and much loved among young people—working for large companies and brands, even receiving the Premi Ciutat Barcelona. Recently, Sara and other Sociedad0 colleagues have moved to a farmhouse in Baix Llobregat, also gradually rehabilitating the space with their own hands, and reclaiming that landscape.

Carles Enrich

Project: Canals i Junyer 2.0, -90%

Carles Enrich Studio was commissioned to rehabilitate an old palace from the early 20th century, abandoned for years, to turn it into a new neighborhood community center. The project was almost ready, but then the pandemic hit, and everything changed. After that pause, they were asked to cut 90% of the budget. The result, who knows, suggests it will be even more beautiful than what it could have been initially.

Host:

Núria Moliner

Architect, communicator, musician, and audiovisual creator.She is dedicated to the dissemination of architectural culture and thought on architecture, design, and urbanism with a social and environmental perspective.

In the television realm, she hosts and directs the documentary series "Animals Arquitectes" for Televisió de Catalunya. She has also been the host of "Escala Humana" on TVE - with 4 seasons and awarded at the Spanish Architecture Biennial - and has collaborated on cultural and educational programs such as "Curiosity" or "Punts de vista" on TVE.

As a curator of events such as the Biennial of Thought, the Model Architecture Festival, the Danza Metropolitana festival, or the Architecture Now Barcelona and Madrid cycle, she is currently a professor of architectural theory at ETSAB (UPC), participates in festivals, congresses, and cultural events, and collaborates with various media outlets, press, and publications.

She directs her own dissemination team - Nuria Moliner Studio - and is a co-founder and director of the audiovisual production company Prestalgia.

 Collaborators: