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Metropolis Editors, Natural Habitat, sustainability, sustainable architecture

METROPOLIS Introduces Natural Habitat, a Sustainable Homes Video Series

The series debuts with a tour of a tranquil upstate New York retreat designed with Passive House principles.

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CAT SHELTER After studying stray cats in Rome—where they are protected by law for their pest control benefits—and the citizen groups (“Gattaras”) that care for them, TAKK proposed this community for cats during the 2022 Festival dell’Architettura di Roma. In order to nurture these mutually beneficial relationships with nature, TAKK emphasizes that design of public space must consider all species.

December 23, 2024

How TAKK Is Rethinking the Template for Architecture

For Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño of Barcelona-based studio TAKK, every commission is a chance to question the norm.

By: Anne Quito

Can architecture wiggle out of the white box? Can cats, dogs, butterflies, and parakeets be clients of architecture? Are there new ways of building sustainably outside of the usual green design clichés? 

These are among the provocations of Barcelona-based TAKK, a research-led architecture practice founded by Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño. Beneath the vivid pink structures and avant-garde installations that have become emblematic of the celebrated 14-year-old studio lies an earnest interrogation of the role of architects during fragile times.

Luzárraga and Muiño, who met while working at an architecture firm in Madrid in 2008, have been interested in alternative routes for their profession since their graduate studies at the ESARQ-School of Architecture. Exposed to contemporary theorists, the duo, who teach and lecture widely, are entrenched in modes of thinking that “decenter human exceptionalism,” as they put it. 

The two designers’ affinity for “post-human” constituents has led to a series of public installations such as a shelter for Rome’s stray cats for the 2022 Festival dell’Architettura di Roma; a shared climate shelter meant for weary pedestrians and the 15 species of birds that circumnavigate Barcelona’s famous La Rambla; or a curious “cyborg garden” perfumed with aphrodisiac plants to encourage romantic crossovers between birds, insects, and humans at a notorious urban heat island in the Matadero Madrid. Their concern for nonhumans also manifests in a 2021 home renovation project in Madrid in which a bedroom is raised on stilts to give the family cat (and a toddler) some crawl space. 

PINK MOUNTAINS An addition to the Santa Mònica Arts Centre terrace, this large roof structure softens the climate conditions of its asphalt and concrete surroundings in Barcelona. The shaded space contains branches and a central garden that welcomes birds, insects, and pollinators while cooling the temperature of the complex.

TAKK, which gets its name from a cherished album by the Icelandic band Sigur Rós, demonstrates how intractable issues like ecology, inclusivity, and feminism can be approached with imagination, ingenuity, and a sense of play. Eschewing the tropes of modern architecture, their public installations, some of which are parked at their studio-workshop in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, contain a riot of ornament, color, and textures—bricolages of mussel shells, houseplants, poly foam, recycled wood, mesh, and chains. 

Their exuberant aesthetic choices are strategic, explains Luzárraga: “We know that people will likely spend very little time with our installations and we need to capture their attention to engage them in the topic. We use bright colors and engaging aesthetics in the hopes of coaxing them to stay a little longer.”

THE GARDEN FOR ROMANTIC CROSSOVERS Part of an exhibition shown at Matadero Madrid, this “cyborg garden” was designed to link humans, animals, biological entities, and technology. Through architectonic nature-based solutions like this one, TAKK hopes to encourage the rethinking of public space in relation to climate change and mitigate the heat island effect.
THE DAY AFTER HOUSE For its renovation of a 1,184-square-foot apartment in Madrid, TAKK worked with thermal gradients rather than following traditional schemes when designing the programmatic configuration of the house, and used primarily low-CO2-emission materials like wood and natural cork.

Compared with their speculative works, TAKK’s built projects contain subtler, yet no less radical, provocations. For instance, the aforementioned cat-friendly apartment renovation in Madrid, dubbed “The Day After House,” offers a radical rethink of sustainable living. Through a careful study of the location’s natural climate and the inhabitants’ routines, TAKK transformed a standard 1,184-square-foot space into a low-carbon dwelling with two living zones. The “winter” area is well insulated and more finished, while the “summer” section was essentially left as raw space and opened to the elements. TAKK has also deployed these tactics in a low-cost home renovation in Barcelona called “The 10K House” to demonstrate how building ecologically and beautifully is possible on any budget. 

From the beginning, Luzárraga and Muiño’s architecture practice has been intertwined with their teaching careers. Luzárraga, who is currently on the faculty of the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, says she’s optimistic that the current generation of architects is more aware of their agency. “When I was studying, architecture was a pure exercise of style, aesthetics, and composition—it had no social dimension. I think the current generation is getting wiser. They have an awareness about this [ecological crisis],” she explains.

“I hope they embrace the fact that the role of architecture is no longer about building in alliance with the real estate market. As architects, we have other responsibilities and other skills.”

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