Working with models goes beyond the mere representation of architecture — it is a fundamental tool for conceiving it. It is a process of thinking through the hands, adding an extra dimension to design, engaging more senses, and enriching the understanding of the project in all its stages. Ultimately, model-making allows reaching places that drawing alone cannot.
Philip Jodidio highlights the unusual approach of Fran Silvestre Arquitectos toward new designs, noting a particular dedication to models as the main creative tool. According to Jodidio, this approach brings their work closer to sculptors such as the admired Andreu Alfaro than to traditional architects who rely primarily on sketching as their mode of expression.
From the earliest stages, the studio seeks precision in its outcomes, using materials that enable the development of complex geometries through simple techniques.
The selection on display represents part of the models created over 25 years by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos. These handcrafted pieces correspond to projects of diverse typologies, scales, and locations, and serve multiple purposes — from understanding volumes and their relationship with the environment to resolving and exploring spatial or constructive details.
David Cohn notes that the studio’s architecture is not essentialist, nor does it aim to recover a lost or rooted authenticity. He remarks that the projects, despite their abstraction, are more about addressing the specific problem — about creating an environment for everyday life that lifts us beyond the ordinary, toward a more complete and awakened sensual engagement with our surroundings.