Home, where is home? In conversation with Architects Núria Casais & Ferran Grau

Currently, the concept of home understood as a shelter in which the human being fulfills basic functions, transcends the condition of the private sphere, and also embraces the public one. From this critical reflection, the practice of GrauCasais Architecture seeks to create the right conditions for architectural experiences with a non-imposing attitude.
In this sense, the design of a rural shelter, the conception of a children home, or the urban design decisions for and old sanatorium abandoned in front of the Mediterranean sea, essentially share the will to welcome the users to make them part of the architecture, the city, and the territory.

Nuria Casais is a Dr. architect and urbanist involved in practice, research and teaching. She is specialist in territorial and regional strategies, urban design and architecture. She taught and researched in different institutions such as the Academy of Architecture of Mendrisio (CH), Politecnico di Milano (IT), Barcelona Institute of Architecture (ES), ESDesign (ES) or i2a-International Institute of Architecture (CH). Since 2015 she is based in Barcelona developing architectural and urban projects and research in collaboration with Ferran Grau (GrauCasais Architecture). Their projects were awarded in several competitions such as: the refurbishing of Casa Bloc, the new centre for APPC, the global intervention in the Savinosa Sanatorium, etc. Recently, she became the co-director of the number 273 of the architectural magazine Quaderns.

Ferran Grau is Architect (1996) and PhD (2013) from the ETSAB. He is currently associated professor at the Architectural Design Department of Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB). He was also teacher assistant at the ETH-Zurich. In parallel he has collaborated with the research centres: Institute of Advance Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and the Barcelona Institute of Architecture (BIArch). His architectural projects were exhibited at the Biennale di Venezia (Unfinished - Spanish Pavilion, Golden Lion Award 2016). GrauCasais Architecture obtained many awards in public competitions including the direction of QUADERNS magazine (num. 273), together with Rafamateo architect.