“The luxury of the future will be homes that heal, inspire, and make you FEEL.”
“The luxury of the future will be homes that heal, that inspire and that make you FEEL.”
Laura Gärna, founder of Gärna Studio and Gärna Art Gallery, invites us on an emotional journey through the connection between art and architecture.
By Noelia Jiménez
Laura Gärna, founder of Gärna Studio and Gärna Art Gallery, invites us on an emotional journey through the connection between art and architecture.
By: Noelia Jiménez
There are voices that feel like embraces. Or perhaps caresses. More subtle. More ethereal. And yet deeply present. Laura Gärna’s is one such voice. Not only in conversation, but also through her dual professional practice as both architect and gallerist. Fittingly, her calling card to the infinite digital universe of Instagram is nothing less than a manifesto for life: “In search of the classical virtues: beauty, goodness and truth.”
Amid the autumn whirlwind that has her barely sleeping two consecutive nights in the same city, Laura gifts us a conversation that moves fluidly between the inspiring bustle of Madrid, the gentle serenity of a home where stone and wood cradle daily life, and those strokes of creativity that infuse soul into everything touched by a certain ineffable spark.
Her love for Madrid pulses through every word. And through every project: “Madrid is a generous, vibrant and luminous city. Its energy compels you to create with your heart, not just your mind. At Gärna we try to capture that Mediterranean joy and translate it into spaces that invite you to live, to share and to enjoy the passing of time. I believe the true Madrid luxury lies in warmth: in how places and people welcome you,” Laura concludes.
Perhaps that is why Gärna creates some of the villas that have become benchmarks for prime single-family homes in Madrid: “Gärna is Design & Build: a universe in which we create homes from concept to execution through our own construction company, allowing us to control every last detail with a 360-degree vision that brings together architecture, interior design, landscaping and, of course, the art that gives soul and life to each villa,” summarises the studio’s founder.
Laura, do you feel that Madrid is becoming a new European hub for design and art?
Absolutely. Madrid is experiencing a unique cultural moment: galleries, fairs, designers and architects are generating a language of their own, less dependent on international trends and more authentic. It’s a city that no longer imitates, it proposes, and that makes it vibrant. I was recently at the opening of Frieze in London, and the general consensus there was that “Madrid is the place to be now.”
Your projects have something of a habitable sculpture. What do you seek to provoke in someone entering a home you’ve designed for the first time?
I seek emotion. I want those who enter to feel an immediate, almost intuitive connection with the space. Each home has its own rhythm, its own breath and its own silence. If it manages to move you, then it has fulfilled its deepest purpose. Above all, I want the people who live in the homes and spaces we design at GÄRNA to feel peace and serenity in their homes, and that our houses become places of gathering for their families and friends.
In your studio one senses an almost artisanal way of working, where nothing is left to chance. What is that creative process like, from the first idea to the final installed piece?
Our process is very intimate. We listen, observe and analyse how each person lives, how they move, what inspires them. From there we craft a spatial narrative that is built layer by layer: proportion, light, texture, art, landscape. Everything tells a shared story, and nothing is left to chance. In the studio, architects, interior designers, administrative staff and art specialists all work side by side. Regular collaborators and suppliers come and go, and together we create each project as a collective endeavour.
“Above all, I want the people who live in the homes and spaces we design at Gärna to feel peace and serenity in their homes, and for our houses to be places of gathering for their families and friends.”
Gärna Gallery emerged as a natural extension of your work as an architect. When did you realise that art and architecture needed to coexist within the same language?
Always. In fact, I can’t conceive of one without the other. Art inhabits space in the same way as light or air; it transforms its energy. The gallery was born out of a need for that constant dialogue between object and environment, between emotion and matter. Art is one of our defining hallmarks and fundamental to our work.
What role does art play in your residential projects?
It is the soul. Art gives meaning; it brings character, depth and sensitivity. It is not decoration — it is language, memory, identity. A house without art is like a conversation without a voice.
Do you choose artworks with the space in mind, or do you design the space so that the works can breathe?
It depends on the project. Sometimes the artwork is the starting point, setting the atmosphere; other times it arrives at the end, as a gesture that completes the story. But there is always mutual respect between the two worlds: art and space need each other to fully exist.
How do you work with the most subtle form of sculpture: space itself?
Space is an invisible yet tangible material. You shape it with light, with proportions, with silences. Sometimes it’s more about what you choose not to do than what you do. In architecture, restraint is also a form of beauty.
Both your studio and your gallery are based in Madrid. What does this city bring to your creative process and business development?
Madrid gives me roots and wings. It is a city of contrasts: elegant and spontaneous, classical and modern, cosmopolitan and deeply human. That duality runs through my work — a constant search for balance between the rational and the emotional.
Our studio and gallery are located at the iconic Callejón de Jorge Juan, 12, in the Salamanca district, which for me still boasts the most beautiful architecture in the city.
I am Andalusian, and I have lived in Madrid for almost 30 years. Madrid has given me everything; my professional career would not be what it is without this city.
In a market saturated with trends, your projects stand out for their coherence and timelessness. How is beauty that endures over time created?
With honesty. When you create with longevity in mind, rather than with the aim of impressing, time becomes your ally. Timeless beauty emerges from proportion, from noble materials and from the calm conveyed by spaces designed to be lived in, not displayed. I don’t believe in fashions or trends. I believe in building homes for a lifetime.
How do you see the dialogue between tradition and avant-garde in contemporary Madrid architecture?
I see it as increasingly fluid. There is no longer any fear of mixing the old with the new. Avant-garde feeds on memory, and tradition is renewed through innovation. What matters is preserving the soul of the place — that genius loci that makes Madrid instantly recognisable.
In the previous edition of this magazine you said you are interested in “designing spatial sequences that allow the human scale to shine.” Where do humanistic approaches sit in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence?
That is precisely where our role lies. Artificial intelligence can optimise processes, but it cannot feel. Architecture remains a profoundly human act: creating spaces in which the soul can recognise itself. Our duty is to preserve emotion, imperfection and the beauty of what is alive. To create spaces where life unfolds, where the great moments take place and are remembered, where personal histories are written. To create homes.
“The soul of a home is born of authenticity. Of materials that age beautifully, of objects with a story, of light that enters at a certain hour and brings back a happy moment.”
You often speak about the importance of creating homes with soul. What transforms a property from merely a place to sleep into an emotional refuge?
The soul of a home is born of authenticity. Of materials that age beautifully, of objects with a story, of light that enters at a certain hour and brings back a happy moment. It is a sum of memories and sensations that ultimately become part of the person who lives there.
How significant are materials within your visual narrative?
They are essential. Every material has a sound, a scent, a temperature. I like to combine them as if they were musical notes: wood, stone, linen, iron… The balance between them creates harmony, and that harmony is the foundation of all beauty.
Is there one material that feels like your personal signature?
Perhaps natural stone, for its honesty, and wood, for its warmth. I am drawn to materials that breathe, that age with dignity and tell the story of time without losing their essence. But I believe my true signature lies in the art pieces.
In your homes, luxury is understood more as an experience than as a display. How do you interpret the concept of contemporary luxury?
Contemporary luxury is silence, time and authenticity. It is the ability to disconnect from noise and reconnect with yourself. It’s the light of dawn entering through a perfectly oriented window. It’s not about ostentation, but about genuine wellbeing. It’s having a welcoming home, a nest.
Through Gärna Gallery you have brought together artists who share a serene, almost poetic sensibility. What guides you when choosing whom to represent?
I look for coherence and truth. I am interested in artists with a distinctive voice, capable of moving us without artifice. Poetic sensitivity cannot be forced; it is perceived. Representing someone is an act of mutual respect and deep trust.
We share a very deep friendship of many years with the artists we represent, such as Fernando de Ana, Santiago Picatoste or Eva Claessens.
Is there a recent project that symbolises the perfect fusion between your architectural vision and your eye as a gallerist?
Yes, several of our most recent residences in La Moraleja reflect that complete union between art and architecture. In them, every artwork has been conceived as part of the space’s narrative structure: not as ornament, but as an emotionally constructive element. Our most epic project has been the latest one we completed in La Moraleja, the villa on Camino Sur, where we delivered architecture, interior design and art with a fully 360-degree approach
If Madrid were an architectural work, how would you describe it?
It would be a house with soul, luminous and contradictory. With hidden courtyards, noble textures and an air of imperfect elegance. A city that renews itself without losing its history, just like good architecture.
When you imagine the future of prime residential architecture in Madrid, where do you think it is heading?
Towards naturalness. Towards more human, sustainable and emotional spaces. The luxury of the future will be about living in harmony with nature, surrounded by silent beauty and honest materials. Homes that heal, that inspire and that make you feel.
And if art is a way of looking at the world, what inspires you today? Which perspectives, cities or artists accompany you at this stage?
I am inspired by the silences of Tadao Ando, the imperfect nature of Japan, the light of the Alentejo, the calm of Eva Claessens’ art, the windows that reflect Fernando de Ana’s universe, and the plastic and poetic power of Santiago Picatoste. We are fascinated by our recent representation of artist Verónica Mar — her sculptures have utterly captivated me, and we will soon be seeing them in Madrid. But above all, I am inspired by everyday life: my daughters, travel, conversations, moments with my friends and the people I love — moments in which time stands still and everything makes sense.