23/02/2016

Miquel Lacasta, Juan Trias de Bes, Blur Arquitectura and Arquitectura-G, headliners at the 2015 ASCER Tile of Spain Awards

Miquel Lacasta, holder of a PhD in Architecture and lecturer in Final Degree Projects at the School of Architecture, alongside his partners Marc Chalamanch and Carmen Santana, from the architecture studio Archikubik, received special mention at the 2015 ASCER Tile of Spain Awards for the Saint Roch Car Park in Montpelier, France.

The jury praised the project's unique and systematic use of ceramics as a visual and sunlight filter: Flexibrick, a ceramic textile designed by Vicenç Sarrablo, lends a sense of unity to the building's multifunctionality. The project consists of a new high-rise car park in the heart of Montpelier, within the ZAC Nouveau Saint-Roch urban development project, which creates a link between the district near the station and the train tracks.

In addition, this year's finalists in the category of Architecture included Juan Trias de Bes (TdB Arquitectura), lecturer from the School of Architecture, for his project CDS1 House. With regard to Interior Design, finalists included architecture studios Blur Arquitectura, headed by Alex Borràs, Enric Farrerons and Octavio Pérez, alumni and lecturers from the School of Architecture, for the restaurant Catedral in Logroño, and Arquitectura-G, whose team includes Jonathan Arnabat, Jordi Ayala-Bril, Aitor Fuentes and Igor Urdampilleta, also alumni and lecturers from the School of Architecture, for their project Farmhouse Renovation in the Empordà.

The jury in this the 14th edition was chaired by architect Víctor López Cotelo (recent winner of the 2015 National Architecture Award) and featured Laura Andreini, from the studio Archea Associati; Portuguese architect Marcos Cruz; interior designer Isabel López Vilalta; Juan Domingo Santos, architect and lecturer from the Higher Technical School of Architecture in Granada; Édgar González, a publisher specialising in architecture; and architect and Castelló-native Ramón Monfort. The Tile of Spain Architecture and Interior Design Awards are organised and promoted by ASCER (Spanish Association of Tile and Ceramic Pavement Manufacturers) with a view to raising the profile of architecture and interior design projects that make a better use of floor and wall tiles manufactured in Spain.

The award ceremony took place on 2 February 2016.