"Home is the place where the heart is"
Interview with Julio Touza Sacristán, partner of Touza Arquitectos
By Noelia Jiménez
"Home is the place where the heart is."
Interview with Julio Touza Sacristán, partner at Touza Arquitectos
By Noelia Jiménez
He walks firmly, but quietly. Each step is a serene foundation that raises an opportunity for elegance.
Julio Touza Sacristán is one of those people who enters a room discreetly, almost as if gliding, but immediately attracts attention. For his impeccable appearance, for his deep gaze. And, once the conversation has begun, for his thoughtful ideas, his reflective discourse and his broad background, but without a hint of vanity.
He greets me in the meeting room of Touza Arquitectos. Behind the presidential chair, a screen shows some of the most outstanding snapshots of the 50 years celebrated by the firm created by his father, Julio Touza Rodríguez, and in which Julio's son takes care of the legacy, contributing that extra innovation that is expected of those who come into the world afterwards.
Talking about the 50 years of Touza Arquitectos is almost like talking about the great transformation of Spain: political, social, economic, cultural... What would you say have been the keys to the evolution of architecture in this half century? I would say that the transformation of architecture in Spain is parallel to the great transformation of the country: we have really experienced a radical modernization in all aspects, and I believe that architecture has been one of the activities in which this evolution is most visible. I always say that when my father became a member in Madrid, his number of members barely exceeded 3,000; that means that in Madrid there were just over 3,000 architects and in Spain, about 5,000. Today we are talking about more than 60,000 registered architects in Spain, that is, ten times more... and the population has grown, but it has not multiplied by 10. This says a lot about the capacity of our schools and the democratization of the activity.
This half-century has been perhaps the most prosperous and peaceful macroeconomic period in history: with the end of the Cold War at the end of the 1980s, the world is living in an expansive era and this is reflected in the real estate market: it is one of the periods in which most architecture has been produced.
On the other hand, there is the technological evolution, which has brought about a worldwide revolution. If we look at the studio's first major projects, 47 or 48 years ago, we find documentation that fits in a small box. Today, if we were to print out all the papers needed for a bar license, they would take up a drawer three times the size of those projects. With this we can see how everything has been complicated in terms of documentation due to a guarantee, not only technical, but often legal, I would say that sometimes it is excessive.
We have gone from plans on tracing paper, made with ink, to large copiers, then computers and later the Internet revolution, which led to a democratization of knowledge and an opening to new sources of inspiration. Now we are in the midst of the era of artificial intelligence, which is having a great impact in all fields.
What are the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in architecture?? There is uncertainty across the board. Technology is not morally good or bad: it is neutral. We are the ones who make it good or bad. But evolution is not made by rejecting technology, but by embracing it, understanding it, assuming it and making it coherent with what human beings need.
In the creative professions the first challenge of AI is intellectual property. Right now it feeds from databases where that ownership is not very clear. There was already a lot of problem with intertextuality and now it has multiplied: where does that AI feed from? Because everything out there has been created by people, with a set of rights. I think the big answer has to be an ethical and legal control that is yet to be developed.
Then there is the big question, "Will AI replace me?". My work, however creative, is replicable by a machine. However, in the case of architects and other professions, we have a 'doom', but that is part of our unique defense that makes us irreplaceable by a machine: since we are a suable object, there always has to be a responsible party. You can't sue the AI. The architect, yes.
I think the most important anchor for me in the profession is the social dimension of the architect.
"We are looking for architecture to be more autonomous in each project and for each project to have its dimension, its needs and to really respond to what is demanded."
There is a wonderful phrase of your father: "architecture is the noblest and most useful of the arts"... and in the end, we are talking about this. Of social utility. This is the big difference between architecture and any other artistic discipline. Art is born of a personal, artistic feeling. And then it can have a market. In architecture it is the other way around: first there is an industry, a social, political, economic need. And then a humanistic and artistic dimension is added. The developer is a fundamental part of architecture. And he asks you to translate his socioeconomic or socio-political vision of a project from knowledge, from discipline, from social responsibility, into something executable, constructible.
An architect is beholden to a whole series of social conditions, and has to look for a utility that transcends them. A poorly constructed building has repercussions on people's lives. A building that remains there in an urban environment will have a long-term impact. Your works usually outlive you or have an impact in the moment and in time, which reflects that useful nobility of which my father speaks.
If we focus on the creative side, on the architect as an artist, what are your sources of inspiration in this artistic journey, Julio?
I believe that a bad architect is the one who throughout his career is neither permeable nor influenced by what others do. To begin with, there is an indissoluble part of creativity, which is technique. The available techniques keep changing, and you have to be constantly updated on their evolution. And the same happens with your architectural references, because architecture is in constant movement.
It is true that at Touza we have a very clear philosophy: we understand that there has to be a balance. We want architecture to be more autonomous in each project and that each work has its own dimension, its own needs and that it really responds to what is demanded. Another thing is that there are obviously some signs of identity: we like an elegant, balanced architecture, not capricious. Architecture can be spectacular, but never a spectacle.
Here we find references that in Spain we would identify with masters such as Alejandro de la Sota in his time or Sáenz de Oiza, who was even my father's teacher -although in his case we are talking about a much more eclectic architect-. Moneo is another reference of that reflective architecture, anchored in history and responsibility.
In the international arena, how can we fail to mention Foster, Richard Meier, or large American studios such as Gensler or SOM.
Today it is the great commercial architecture that is defining the urban landscape worldwide. There has always been this idea that architecture is for intellectual elites, separating school from industry. And I have always said the opposite: without industry there is no architecture. Without an active real estate sector, everything else is just flower games. It is really the great global real estate market that makes people have houses, hospitals, schools, stadiums, museums. And furthermore, following this last example, they do not need just any museum, but something more special: that is where the spectacular or attractive dimension of architecture comes in.
The city is made up of great big buildings, many are silent, serving as an urban backdrop: you walk by and it's as if you don't see them. The city needs more silence than shouting. If we make cities based only on spectacle, it's like making movies based on explosions, it would be exhausting and annoying.
"The city needs more silence than shouting. If we make cities based only on spectacle, it's like making movies based on explosions."
In the image, El Viso Residences, the most sustainable housing in Madrid in the only new construction project available in El Viso.
Sustainability is one of your main pillars, and you even go beyond the obvious -environmental sustainability- and work on social sustainability, with awards such as the one you received for the Siemens building. How do you conceive sustainable architecture? For me, sustainability is responsibility. When you are an architect, your architecture has to be responsible with people and with the environment in which it is located.
The first thing is to do things whose measures last over time. For example, in sustainability, what lasts most are the passive measures, not the active ones. In other words, if you design a building, the first thing you think about is how you position it, how you design the cross ventilation, the solar orientation... you start to see a whole series of things that are going to last over time.
The next step is to try to design a whole series of technological elements that help to take advantage of renewable energies and reduce CO2 emissions. In this aspect, I would highlight the importance of water: controlling water consumption is essential and will become more critical every day.
But I would really talk more about responsibility than sustainability. That is to say, at the end of the day, what you have to attend to is the social dimension, and within it we have always paid attention to other aspects such as universal accessibility: we design for all types of people. What is more, we are all 'some kind of people' throughout our lives, with an injury, with a baby carriage...
We will have different mobility challenges at each stage and that is something we have always taken great care of. My father did a project in the early 1980s, inaugurated by Queen Sofia, which was the first major center for the care of people with severe disability problems. We learned a lot there.
Among the more than 2,500 projects you have developed over the last 50 years, some of the projects you have done with Knight Frank stand out. What would you say distinguishes this brand from others in its sector, from the architect's point of view? One of the things I like most about Knight Frank is that it values architecture very much and always puts value on the architect. Knight Frank has always paid great attention to the way architecture is told as well and the narrative of things is very important: every project has a why and behind that why there is a developer with a vision and there is an architect. And they know very well how to bring that to the forefront.
The second thing is the human treatment, because they have a spectacular and impeccable team and the truth is that this is also very important. A real estate job takes you about four years of relationship: in Knight Frank they understand that a project will have peaks and valleys and if you lead teams with human quality the process is easier.
The other element that makes working with them very special is the great international experience and large projects worldwide. This gives peace of mind and a lot of comfort and is a value when facing unique projects.
El Viso Residences is one of the most important projects you have developed with Knight Frank. If you had to choose one adjective to describe it, what would it be? The Viso Residences is going to be an icon in the area. There are very few opportunities to do a new building in this enclave, and we have a great opportunity to create an experience with outstanding architecture that will draw attention in an environment of silent architectures.
This project follows BREEAM EXCELLENT NEW CONSTRUCTION standards and seeks excellence in every way: finishes, design and sustainability. That is why we have opted for maximum efficiency, a product that, being urban and multi-dwelling, stands out for the use of geothermal or photovoltaic panels to maximize energy savings and ensure a renewable and clean consumption. These are two very remarkable and rare elements in an urban environment.
We add another very important part for us: passive measures, looking for double orientations where possible, solar protection, excellent insulation in the houses and also landscaped areas, so that, in some way, they cool with evapotranspiration.
"For me sustainability is responsibility. When you are an architect, your architecture has to be responsible with people and with the environment in which it is located."
In the picture, Padilla 32
Branded residences are becoming real stars in the real estate sector. In this sense, Padilla 32 will be one of your big performances. What makes this project special? Padilla 32 is an emblematic building because of its history, given that it is by one of the best architects who have defined Madrid's architecture, as was Don Luis Gutiérrez Soto. The aim of the project is to recover the protected elements, the original terraces, and to give value to the chamfers, so that its façade recovers its original image. We want to maintain the value of the stately homes, with very unique curved shapes and very typical of Gutiérrez Soto, and also bringing them to modernity in terms of facilities and interior design, with a great prominence of excellence and exclusivity: parking -which is rare in the area-, a large spa, concierge, club area... and the central courtyard and gardens will also be recovered.