As users and designers of their own project, ERRE Arquitectura team have devised their new space focusing on values such as versatility and the interaction between co-workers. The new studio -located at the historical Eixample neighbourhood of Valencia- has been equiped with a wide range of Vicccarbe pieces.
We share the city, the same Mediterranean light and the idea about how the inside and outside are connected in every project.
Enjoy the interview to José Martí (Partner Architect at ERRE) we have included in the very first issue of the Viccarbe Mediterranean Magazine… A conversation ‘From Architect to Architect’.
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How furniture impacts on your architecture?
Usage is one of the fundamental pillars of the architecture that we conduct here in ERRE. We focus on the utility of the building intended for the ones that live in it. We try to clearly solve the everyday from the point of view of the user. This is why we cannot understand architecture without furniture, given that it is an essential part within our design as well as in the connexion between the building and people.
What do you ask furniture for so it is in tune with your architectural projects?
Technology helps society evolve faster every day. All transforms, nothing remains the same way it was before. Our buildings have to be prepared for this flux to happen in a very simple and natural way. The furniture that we pick up for our works has to be constantly looking for adaptation in order to meet the upcoming needs that remain uncertainly nowadays. In the other hand, we also want the furniture to be part of the architecture so both of them can be a whole. A whole that likewise subtly engages with architecture. Having said that, if I had to define the aspect that interests us the most about furniture with just one word, it’d surely be versatility.
“We want the furniture to be part of the architecture so both of them can be a whole. A whole that likewise subtly engages with architecture.”
How would you define your experience with Viccarbe? In which aspects do you reckon that the brand promotes a better collaboration among users?
We have a wide experience working with Viccarbe and we have relied on its furniture in many projects. Just to mention a few of the most recent ones, we collaborated in the interior design of the EDEM university and of the start-ups business centre LANZADERA. Both built in Valencia, our city.
Furthermore, we have recently worked with Viccarbe in the interior design of one the most special projects before us: the new office of ERRE. In this very case we are both architects and clients at the same time. It is a complex combination since oneself turns out to be the most discerning client you deal with. However, we were sure about the furniture. It had to be none other than Viccarbe, they were the ones that we could trust with the design and manufacture of our furnishings.
Designing a chair that can be used both for meetings and eating purposes and also be object of contemplation is indeed admirable. That is what Viccarbe does!
In short, our experience with Viccarbe is a full one given that we have been both architects and users and this dichotomy couldn’t have made us happier.
“Designing a chair that can be used both for meetings and eating purposes and also be object of contemplation is indeed admirable.”
Which would be the feature of a space and furniture that have been developed from the Mediterranean?
No doubt it is an explosive combination: natural light, good weather and colours. All those concepts are inevitably rooted to the spot as well as determining factors in the understanding of architecture and furniture design. Our privileged location, the Mediterranean Sea and specifically the city of Valencia is such an exceptional place for projects. Culturally we are constantly looking for the inside-outside spatial connexion. We want people to interact with each other as well as they do with the light.
I wouldn’t like to simply say that we are always seeking for the customer happiness, which is obvious to me. We design our projects in order to improve their quality of life.
Why would you recommend Viccarbe to other architects?
Viccarbe has achieved originality, such a hard thing to do specially in a world flooded with products. We recommend its furniture to our clients because its unique features, a way of being that cannot be reproduced. A picture is worth more than a thousand words, they say. Even though it is difficult for me to define its essence in just a line, its designs remind me of concepts such as simplicity and kindness. They don’t follow trends but focus on meeting and understanding the sensations. I reckon this is why the Viccarbe style is timelessness.
Picture: Valencia New Arena Stadium