Marià Castelló Arquitecte

The studio began its course in February 2002 with the first public and private initiative projects in Formentera. The connection, the respect and the commitment with the culture, the landscape and the territory of the minor of the Pitiüsas islands was determining in the professional and personal orientation chosen. The peace, austerity, serenity, precision, humility, balance, harmony, sustainability, order, containment and ingenuity of the original character of the island inspire and dye the work of the office. Formentera is experiencing a notable urban pressure that is characterized by an important volume of construction of poor architectural quality, which contrasts with the exceptional value of the natural and architectural substrate that characterizes it. Given this dynamic, a small-format, self-sufficient, almost artisan study structure is proposed, capable of assuming a very small volume of interventions simultaneously and with the aim of generating quality of life, beauty, health and happiness to the users of the created spaces. To address larger-scale projects or to expand the geographical limits of the actions in a timely manner, decentralization has been chosen through external collaborations with other studies and professionals with similar values. Formentera historically has opted for a dispersed occupation model of very low density, and in this context the isolated single-family dwelling has been the most common program to be solved. The interventions carried out on patrimonial elements have been very grateful in the research phase, and in some cases they have helped to improve the knowledge of the way in which Formentera was anthropized. In the dissemination aspect, the study has collaborated with editorial projects of different nature, exhibitions and presentations with the purpose of spreading both the patrimonial baggage existing on the island and those contemporary interventions generated with criteria and reflection.