SelgasCano - Wikipedia 22.11.

22, 17:24

SelgasCano
SelgasCano is a Spanish architectural
office based in Madrid and founded in 1998
by José Selgas and Lucía Cano. The
atelier focuses on the use of polychromy,
creative exploration of new materials and
the relationship between architecture and its
surrounding landscape.

Their work includes three Auditoriums and

congress centers in Spain (Auditorio de
Badajoz[1], Auditorio El Batel Cartagena[2] The Serpentine Pavilion of 2015
and Auditorio de Plasencia (https://www.arc
hdaily.com/910529/plasencia-auditorium-a
nd-congress-center-selgas-cano)[3]), several office buildings such as Second Home London (htt
ps://www.archdaily.com/769707/second-home-london-office-selgascano),[4] Second Home
Lisboa (https://www.dezeen.com/2017/02/14/second-home-lisboa-market-hall-co-working-pl
ants-office-selgascano-portugal/)[5] and Second Home Los Angeles (https://www.archdaily.co
m/928819/second-home-hollywood-office-selgascano),[6] a school in Kibera (https://www.deze
en.com/2017/01/05/selgascano-designed-pavilion-transformed-into-school-for-kenyas-kibera-
slum/) Nairobi,[7] a vaccination center in Turkana (https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articl
es/7996-konokono-vaccination-center) Kenya,[8] and several public pavilions including the 15th
annual Serpentine Pavilion 2015 (https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/serp
entine-pavilion-2015-designed-selgascano) in London,[9] which was re-installed at La Brea Tar
Pits (https://tarpits.org/experience-tar-pits/second-home-pavilion) in Los Angeles in 2019.[10]
Selgascano´s office in the woods (https://www.archdaily.com/21049/selgas-cano-architecture-
office-by-iwan-baan/) in Madrid is the most visited project (https://www.archdaily.com/48485
6/the-20-most-visited-archdaily-projects-of-all-time)[./SelgasCano#cite_note-12 [12]][12] in
the specialized architecture website Archdaily.

Selgascano's work has been exhibited in MoMA (https://www.moma.org/artists/29835) New

York, Bruges Trienal (https://triennalebrugge.be/en/nieuws/the-selgascano-pavilion-is-a-winn
er/), Guggenheim New York, GA gallery in Tokyo, the MOT(Contemporary Art Museum of
Tokyo, the Design Museum of London, the Akademie der Kunste in Berlin, the Tin Sheds
Gallery in Sydney, the MIT in Boston, the architecture Venice Biennale in Venice and the
Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen. Selgascano was awarded with the Kunstpreis by the
Akademie der Künste in Berlin in 2013, as well as the Architects of the Year prize by the German
Design Council in Munich.[11]

José Selgas describes the work of the office in the following way:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SelgasCano Seite 1 von 7

SelgasCano - Wikipedia 22.11.22, 17:24

“We like to be open to every possibility in every project. We come with open eyes and
with the possibility to go in any direction. We are architects, not artists. We always
try to bring something to the table that is beyond our personal thoughts. All of our
projects incorporate different inputs that come from different directions, but
typically, they’re always related to nature, climate, society, history, scale, and—more
than anything—economy.“[12]

Contents
Background
Architectural practice
Selected works
Badajoz Congress Centre and Auditorium 2006
SelgasCano’s Office “Office in the woods” 2009
Cartagena Auditorium and Congress Centre 2011
Also named El B. (after the beach in front of it)
Serpentine Pavilion 2015
Plasencia Auditorium and Congress Centre 2017
Projects
Awards
References
Further reading
External links

Background
José Selgas was born in Madrid in 1965. He graduated from ETSA Madrid in 1992 and has
worked with Francesco Venecia in Naples from 1994 to 1995. He won the Rome Prize in the
Spain Academy of Fine Arts in Rome 1997 – 1998.[11]

Lucía Cano Pinto was born in Madrid in 1965. She graduated from ETSA Madrid in 1992 and
has worked with Julio Cano Lasso, her father, from 1997 until 2001.[11]

Architectural practice
SelgasCano describes their architectural practice in the following way:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SelgasCano Seite 2 von 7

SelgasCano - Wikipedia 22.11.22, 17:24

“The buildings that interest us are precisely the ones that establish a certain
relationship with nature, not the ones that try to imitate or camouflage themselves
in nature, but the ones that are in direct opposition or contradiction to it. Actually,
instead of seeking a balance between nature and artifice, we think nature should
prevail over artifice. In all our projects, we strive to give nature a greater presence
than it had before our intervention. Otherwise, we would consider the project to be a
failure. Again, we are less and less interested in architecture as a physical fact, and
more interested in architecture as a sensitivity, as respect for what exists.”[11]

In general, the studio works with as few people as possible in order to be able to fully control the
quantity and the quality of the projects. SelgasCano works on various scales and typologies:
Their portfolio includes installations, pavilions, small shops, single-family houses, office
buildings, congress centers and auditoriums and large-scale park proposals.

One of the common denominators of their work is the way in which they deal with the plot: As
theorist and critic Thomas Daniel states, “most of their buildings are not conventionally places
on the ground, but appear to be floating in the air above the ground surface, like Mérida
Factory, for example, or gently pressed into the earth below the ground surface, like EL ‘B’, in
Cartagena”.[11]

Another reoccurring theme is the use of color, their constant work with polychromy. As
Christopher Turner, London Design Biennale director, states: “There is nothing superficial
about SelgasCano’s use of colour – the Spanish duo’s pop-art playfulness has been integral to
projects from east London to northern Kenya.”[13]

A key factor in their work is also the use of unusual, industrial-grade materials, like ethylene
tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polymethyl methacrylate (acrylic) and polycarbonate.[14] The use of
plastic in many buildings allows for lightweight, sometimes even translucent, façades.

Selected works

Badajoz Congress Centre and Auditorium 2006

The Badajoz Congress Centre and Auditorium was built in
Badajoz in 2006 on the remains of a bastion in the Vauban
fortress, a plot of 17.000 m2. A lot of the fortifications of the
historic fortress were demolished in the mid-nineteenth
century, as they had lost their defensive purpose. The fort
had been remodeled into a bullring, which had become a
ruin as well over the years. SelgasCano reused the remaining
circular void by keeping the original lines for their proposal.
The inner circle, which previously served as the arena for Badajoz Congress Centre and
the bullring, became the auditorium, which is connected Auditorium
beneath the courtyard level to the outer circle. The
courtyard itself corresponds to the ring of tiers of the

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SelgasCano Seite 3 von 7

SelgasCano - Wikipedia 22.11.22, 17:24

bullring. It is now filled with Ailanthus shrubs, which is a local species of trees. The vast
majority of the building is made out of two materials: Polyster/Fiberglass tubing and white
Perspex tubes.

SelgasCano’s Office “Office in the woods” 2009

The building is set in the only remaining free space on the plot in the woods near Madrid. In
line with the studio’s reoccurring themes, the building is lowered into the ground. It also has a
very specific scale, because José Seglas and Lucía Cano want the studio to stay small: The office
consists of one room, which is only approximately 72 m2, 4 meters in width stretching along 18
meters with a height of about 2.5 meters – 1.2 of which are below the ground – the office can
only be accessed through stairs on the north side. The south-facing curved wall is constructed
from a 110mm thick, insulated fiberglass and polyester sandwich, offering shade from direct
sunlight, while the north-facing wall offers a view outside through its 20mm thick, curved
window made of transparent acrylic.

Cartagena Auditorium and Congress Centre 2011

Also named El B. (after the beach in front of it)

The Cartagena Auditorium and Congress Centre is situated

at the end of a roughly one kilometre long harbour strip on
the border between the city and the waterfront on a plot of
18.500 m2. The site itself also played a defensive role
historically, just like the site of the Badajoz Congress Centre
and Auditorium. The proposal, according to the architects
themselves, was aimed at preserving the relationship
between the city and the sea - keeping 60% of the building
Cartagena Auditorium and Congress
below grade in order to achieve a height that is similar to the
Centre surrounding harbor buildings and keeps the line of sight
from the city to the waterfront intact.[11] While it’s outside
consists of rigid lines, the interior is more architecturally
articulated, with a promenade inside that connects two opposite entrances with the various
programs that are housed within. Given the fact that Cartagena has Europe’s biggest
polycarbonate factory, the main materials used in the skin of the building are polycarbonate and
methacrylate.

Serpentine Pavilion 2015

The 2015 Serpentine Pavilion by SelgasCano showcased a colorful plastic design, consisting of a
minimal steel frame wrapped in multi-colored ETFE sheet and webbing. The pavilion has a
main internal space, which according to the architects is “referencing back to the multi-layered
and chaotic network of the London underground, which is enveloped in corridors through
which it can be accessed.”[15] The Pavilion also hosted a café inside.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SelgasCano Seite 4 von 7

SelgasCano - Wikipedia 22.11.22, 17:24

The project had to be built quickly, as all Serpentine

Pavilions have to. In addition to that, an experimental
design is fundamental for every Serpentine Pavilion
proposal. This combination of actualities in this case led to a
constructional flaw: Due to a leak in the ETFE structure, the
café was not shielded against London weather conditions
anymore – letting rain into the interior space where the café
had its counter. This structural failure has led to Serpentine Pavilion
condemning reviews, one of which, titled “A clown’s sleeve”
was published by Robert Bevan in the London Evening
Standard, claiming that “Selgascano’s offering is amongst the Serpentine’s least successful
pavilions, not helped by the Spanish architects’ late realization that the brief is not just for an
art installation but a functioning summer café and party venue.”[16]

Plasencia Auditorium and Congress Centre 2017

The Plasencia Auditorium and Congress Centre is situated on the edge of the town of Plasencia,
which had gradually undergone a process of urbanization in which the town had been built
artificially elevated. The site for the project is on the outskirts of this urbanized area within the
surrounding natural landscape, which is 18 meters below street level. The aim was to keep the
footprint of the building at its minimum, therefore organizing the program vertically. The
building is connected to the street by a ramp, which ends in an open lobby that also acts as a
lookout to the natural surroundings, establishing a visual relationship between the city and
nature. The building houses an auditorium, a café, a multipurpose room and an exhibition
room. Those rooms are stacked on top of each other, connected by a circular path. The form of
the building is often described as “a giant, boulder-shaped volume [that] emerges out of the
undulating terrain”.[17] The outer shell is made out of a translucent ETFE, which reveals the
interior pathways especially when lit during the night.

Projects
UIB Library – Palma de Mallorca, Spain – 2003 (Competition)
55 Dwellings in Amsterdam – Amsterdam, Netherlands – 2003 (Competition)
Housing and offices in an existing building – León, Spain – 2004 (Competition)
Las Palmeras Park – Garrucha, Botanical Garden, Almería, Spain – 2004 (Competition)
112 Emergency Call Centre – Mérida, Badajoz, Spain – 2006 (Competition)
Badajoz Congress Centre and Auditorium – Badajoz, Spain – 2005 to 2006
Madrid Penal Court Building – Madrid, Spain – 2007 (Competition)
Water supply tank in Villar Del Rey – Badajoz, Spain, 2007
Supercom offices – Santiago de Compostela, Spain – 2008 (Competition)
Sanchinarro Market – Madrid, Spain – 2008 (Competition)
Congress Centre, Vitoria – Álava, Spain – 2008 (Competition)
Silicon House – Madrid, Spain – 2006 to 2008
Office in the woods – Madrid, Spain – 2006 to 2009

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SelgasCano Seite 5 von 7

SelgasCano - Wikipedia 22.11.22, 17:24

Factory Mérida – Badajoz, Spain – 2006 to 2011

“El B.” Cartagena Auditorium and Congress Centre – Murcia, Spain – 2001 to 2011
Amidst the air, Installation at the 13th Venice Biennale – Venice, Italy – 2012 
Eyewear shop Cartagena – Murcia, Spain – 2010 to 2013
Transport interchange and archeological park, Yenikapi – Istanbul, Turkey – 2012
(Competition)
Second Home London Office – London, UK – 2014 to 2015
Serpentine Pavilion – London, UK – 2015
“Helloeverything” Kibera Hamlets – Nairobi, Kenya – 2016
Second Home Lisbon Office – Lisbon, Portugal – 2016 to 2017
Librería – London, UK – 2016
Plasencia Auditorium and Congress Centre – Cáceres, Spain – 2005 to 2017
Second Home Holland Park – London, UK – 2017
Martell Pavilion – Cognac, France – 2017
Brugge Triennale Pavilion – Brugge, Belgium – 2018
Second Home Hollywood Office – Los Angeles, USA – 2019

Awards
Kunstpreis by the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, Germany – 2013
Architects of the Year prize by the German Design Council in Munich, Germany – 2013

References
1. es:Palacio de Congresos de Badajoz
2. es:Auditorio y palacio de congresos El Batel
3. "Plasencia Auditorium and Congress Center / Selgascano" (https://www.archdaily.com/9105
29/plasencia-auditorium-and-congress-center-selgas-cano). February 2019.
4. "Second Home London Office / Selgascano" (https://www.archdaily.com/769707/second-ho
me-london-office-selgascano). 6 July 2015.
5. "SelgasCano adds plant-filled workspace to Lisbon market hall for Second Home" (https://w
ww.dezeen.com/2017/02/14/second-home-lisboa-market-hall-co-working-plants-office-selga
scano-portugal). 14 February 2017.
6. "Second Home Hollywood Office / Selgascano" (https://www.archdaily.com/928819/second-
home-hollywood-office-selgascano). 5 April 2021.
7. "Selgascano-designed pavilion transformed into school for Kenyan slum" (https://www.deze
en.com/2017/01/05/selgascano-designed-pavilion-transformed-into-school-for-kenyas-kiber
a-slum). 5 January 2017.
8. "Konokono Vaccination Center" (https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/7996-konokon
o-vaccination-center).
9. "Serpentine Pavilion 2015 by selgascano" (https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-e
vents/serpentine-pavilion-2015-designed-selgascano).
10. "Second Home Pavilion | la Brea Tar Pits" (https://tarpits.org/experience-tar-pits/second-ho
me-pavilion).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SelgasCano Seite 6 von 7

SelgasCano - Wikipedia 22.11.22, 17:24

11. SelgasCano, 2003-2013 : vacilante naturaleza = shambling nature (https://www.worldcat.org

/oclc/872130096). Fernando Márquez Cecilia, Richard C. Levene. Madrid. 2014. ISBN 978-
84-88386-79-3. OCLC 872130096 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/872130096).
12. Morley, Jack Balderrama (2020-03-04). "In conversation with selgascano" (https://aninterior
mag.com/in-conversation-selgascano/). AN Interior. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
13. "SelgasCano: Rainbow warriors" (https://www.iconeye.com/architecture/features/selgascan
o-rainbow-warriors). ICON Magazine. 2015-03-31. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
14. "Stretch of Imagination: SelgasCano's Unparalleled Plastic Façades" (https://architizer.com/
blog/inspiration/collections/selgascano-plastic-facades/). Journal. 2018-08-14. Retrieved
2021-05-21.
15. "SelgasCano's 2015 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Opens" (https://www.archdaily.com/645194
/selgascano-s-2015-serpentine-gallery-pavilion-opens). ArchDaily. 2015-06-22. Retrieved
2021-05-21.
16. Correspondent, Louise Jury, Chief Arts (2015-06-22). "Serpentine Gallery unveils 15th
annual summer pavilion" (https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/exhibitions/serpentine-gallery-
unveils-15th-annual-summer-pavilion-10335969.html). www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved
2021-05-21.
17. "selgascano designs transulent plasencia conference center in spain" (https://www.designbo
om.com/architecture/selgascano-plasencia-conference-center-auditorium-cartagena-spain-0
2-07-2019/). designboom | architecture & design magazine. 2019-02-07. Retrieved
2021-05-21.

Further reading
"[Selgascano 2003-2013]. Shambling nature", El Croquis, 171, 2014,
ISBN 9788488386793, ISSN 0212-5633 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0212-5633)
"[a+u 2018:08 selgascano].", A+U, N.575, 2018, ISBN 978-4900212251

External links
SelgasCano official website (http://www.selgascano.net/)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SelgasCano&oldid=1099890531"

This page was last edited on 23 July 2022, at 03:59 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may apply. By
using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SelgasCano Seite 7 von 7