MG&AG Arquitectos Asociados - The Deconstruction Concept
By Diego Flores
Architect Miguel García’s career is extensive and successful. He has practiced for over 30 years, and since 2012 his dream of sharing a studio with his son Andrés García Castiella has been fulfilled. As MG&AG Arquitectos Asociados, they have worked on more than forty projects in Ibiza, Amsterdam, Havana and other locations around the world. They are based in Ibiza and follow a unique idea about architectural reality and their commitment to it. In this conversation with Miguel García Quetglas we also spoke with interior architect Mónica Larena, who is part of the studio’s staff. Together they tell us about the philosophy and the spirit with which they bring to each project.
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... We have been able to develop a search for our own language, allowing us to create personal spaces that are made specifically for the inhabitants. We decided to locate in Ibiza because we have a strong connection with its landscapes and history. Even when developing speculative projects for investors, our work is anchored in the exercise of architecture of people for people. We get to know our clients so that we can design and develop spaces that are practical and fitting for them.”
The firm has won awards from industry critics, such as: El Suplemento National Award in 2016, Best Architecture Studio and Mediterranean Excellence Award in 2015. The feeling that they develop in their projects rests upon a unique concept which they call “deconstruction”.
“... Our starting point is Ibiza’s traditional architecture. We are attracted to the same materials that were used 300 years ago on the island. We also reinterpret structures and concepts, treating them differently: we adapt them to a rhythm that is related to our present times, through special geometric shapes and numerous entry points for natural light and water. We are very much attracted to local noble materials such as stone, glass and wood. We do not reject concrete, to which we owe a veritable revolution in building techniques, but we do not relate it with the island’s landscape. Our style deconstructs Ibiza’s traditional architecture and achieves a new look that is warmer and more contemporary.”
“Using stone, glass and wood to create a natural feeling”
Architecture is both science and a form of art. It creates the space that surrounds, embraces and protects its inhabitants. This is very apparent in the designs of MG&AG Arquitectos Asociados. Their studio reflects a strong interest in aesthetics. The “inhabitants” that this architectual team designs for are people from Ibiza and also from further a field: Spanish, French, Belgian, Dutch and also South American.
“... In Ibiza, the increase of the year-round population and also of the transient one, has been dramatically rapid. This has significantly affected the landscape, and not always with good results. The market has taken over and thus not everything that has been built in the last years exhibits good architecture. These issues concern and worry us, and for this reason we work hard to present proposals that allow us to improve the landscape with what we have to offer. We are convinced that this is what we must do...”
Deconstruction defines the method that architects Miguel García Quetglas and Andrés García Castiella use in their designs. Their connection with this movement, which emerged at the end of the 80’s, is characterized by fragmentation, a non-linear design process, and interest in manipulating ideas, surfaces, and structures by the geometry that delineates its spaces. From the starting point of Ibiza’s traditional architecture, MG&AG evolves the design by re-composing the building to generate a special enclosure that offers a unique vision of space and our place in it.
