a+u 21:05, 608

a+u’s May issue features the work of Sancho-Madridejos Architecture Office (S-MAO). Based in Madrid, Spain and established in 1982 by Juan Carlos Sancho and Sol Madridejos, the office has developed a nuanced and committed practice rooted in investigations in plastic arts and aesthetic theory. An essay by their close friends, Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa, reveals the deeper origins to S-MAO’s approach and describes how their trials and investigations have yielded “new processes in engineering, new construction systems, and a new language.” An ensemble of 20 projects, framed according to two investigative themes, are featured in this monograph, supported by axonometric diagrams and concept models. The multiple views of early study models convey the obsessive search for an “original space,” as described by García-Abril and Mesa, where structure, envelope, and shape come together.

Text in English and Japanese.