Firm Faces #6

Last week on my weekly page I featured four hotels, one of them by Juli Capella, aka Capella Garcia Arquitectura. From one look at the intro to the Barcelona-based office's web page -- a man (Juli?) waving at the viewer and watching a snail slither across the screen -- it's apparent the group has a good sense of humor. The office portrait definitely reinforces this characteristic:



Indicating that the studio "was founded at the end of last century but it will probably not outlast this one," this humor is obviously aligned with a tendency to not take themselves too seriously. But if one thinks that this attitude means their buildings do the same, then one will surely be disappointed. When they further say that they hope some of their projects will outlast this century "with dignity," it's clear that the humor and informality does not inform the building designs directly but perhaps makes the difficult process of architecture more enjoyable, or at least more sane, for architects and clients alike.