The Madrid-based studio Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos (GdlF) takes on a paradoxical challenge: in an almost entirely built urban landscape, they care for the unbuilt environment. Instead of focusing only on new architecture, the team led by Natalia Gutiérrez and Julio de la Fuente adapts existing spaces, revealing their hidden potential. Their approach – working with the already-there – understands the unbuilt as a crucial component of an ecological transformation. The exhibition at Aedes, curated by Kaye Geipel and Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos, presents sustainable strategies for improving in-between spaces through selected projects in Germany, Belgium, Spain, the UK and Switzerland. A central element is the film installation European Encounter Cabinet, in which international experts close to the studio share their perspectives on the future of architecture and urban planning in European cities and territories.
Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos adopt an integrative design approach that does not consider architecture in isolation but as part of a comprehensive environmental design. They incorporate existing buildings, open spaces and resources into their planning to develop sustainable and resilient solutions.
Metro de Madrid Transport Complex, Madrid, ES; Landscape: Batlle I Roig; In partnership with Nexo Arquitectura and Andrés Perea Arquitecto © Fernando Alda
The studio sees itself as a mediator between the built and the unbuilt, dedicated to the rediscovery of hid-den potential. Their expanded concept of urban heritage goes beyond classical monument preservation, integrating ecological and social resources. They develop strategies that help municipalities, neighbour-hoods and investors responsibly manage water, air and soil.
For Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos, unbuilt spaces are not merely vacant areas but essential design elements. They offer opportunities to counteract social and ecological fragmentation and create resilient, inclusive urban spaces. “Landscape and, more generally, all forms of in-between spaces are key sites for seeking solutions to current climate and social crises. In our practice, we develop appropriate strategies, tactics and operational processes for new forms of interaction that promote metabolism and inclusion,” they explain.
Haus der Tagesmütter, Selb, DE; In partnership with Tallerde2 and SelbWERK © Feig Fotodesign | Fernando Alda
The exhibition
Shaping the Unbuilt Environment, curated by Kaye Geipel and Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos, is struc-tured into two main sections:
• The European Encounter Cabinet – The Conference
• The Case Studies – A European Learning Process
In The European Encounter Cabinet, a film installation presents the cross-border collaboration of Gutiér-rez-delaFuente Arquitectos since their founding in 2006. Architects, urban planners and experts from different countries discuss the future of architecture and urban planning in Europe. Participants include Kristiaan Borret (Brussels), Aglaèe Degros (Graz), Andreas Hofer (Stuttgart), Didier Rebois (Paris), Mónica Cid and Silvia Villacañas (Madrid).
The Case Studies – projects by Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos in Germany, Belgium, Spain, the UK and Switzerland – are displayed around these European voices on the exhibition walls. They tell a story that reflects almost 20 years of architectural practice in Europe. The projects are arranged along a methodo-logical matrix illustrating the studio's specific design strategies.
Haute 275 Social Housing, Brussels, BE; Landscape: kollektif landscape; In partnership with MAKER Architecten © GdlF-MAKER
About Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos
The office Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos (GdlF) was founded in Madrid in 2006 by Natalia Gutiérrez and Julio de la Fuente. Both studied architecture in Madrid and worked in Paris with Jean Nouvel. Since 2013, Julio de la Fuente has been a member of the Technical Committee of Europan Europe.
Their projects have received multiple awards, including the international Bauwelt Award (2013), the COAM Award (2013, 2023) and the NAN Award (2013, 2023). The studio has been widely published in professional journals and has exhibited its work internationally. In 2019, they curated the Spanish Pavilion at the Seoul Biennale.
Natalia Gutiérrez and Julio de la Fuente, Gutiérrez-delaFuente Arquitectos © Davide Curatola
About Kaye Geipel
Kaye Geipel is an architecture critic, urban planner, and curator based in Berlin and Brussels. Since 1995, he has been an editor at the weekly magazine Bauwelt, serving as deputy editor-in-chief of Bauwelt and Stadtbauwelt from 2010 to 2022, where he was responsible the annual international Bauwelt conferences on European urbanism.
In 2023, he co-curated the exhibition Die Ganze Stadt in Hamburg with Kawahara Krause. Kaye Geipel is President of Europan Germany and a member of the selection committee for the Schelling Prize for architectural theory. Since 2023, he has been co-editor of the Bauwelt Fundamente book series, which has pub-lished over 180 key texts on architectural theory and urban development since 1963.
Aedes Catalogue
English, 10€
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Project Sponsors
Alverlamp, Vescom, Ka Dabra, Riel CHYC, Embajada de España en Berlín, Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) PICE
Cooperation Partner
COAM
