A+U 23:02, 629 HARQUITECTES

Founded in 2000 by four classmates from Barcelona’s Vallès School of Architecture, HARQUITECTES exudes a clear ambition toward universal relevance while being rooted in Catalonia. Which is why their architecture still holds a particularly Mediterranean feel, blurring the threshold between inside and outside. Simply put, their buildings are passive thermal machines that harmonise the built and natural surroundings to achieve comfort. Of the eighteen projects featured here, half are public buildings while the rest are private residences. Needless to say, their detailed and holistic approach has garnered much-deserved acclaim in the 21st-century architecture world.