\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jaque\u2019s perspective is shaped through Office for Political Innovation<\/strong><\/a>, a Madrid- and New York-based studio that works across scales, always remaining attentive to the systems each project engages. Discussing utopia, he notes: \u2018I don\u2019t think for us, utopia is something about speculation, but actually about finding the tensions in the present that can announce possibilities that would be desirable to make possible.\u2018<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This position runs through many of his works, especially the Reggio School, whose cork facade supports microbial life, or ongoing investigations into mining industries as he and his team trace the harmful environmental and social impacts of the construction process.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n office for political innovation: dreams as design method<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Architect<\/strong><\/a> Andr\u00e9s Jaque points to the instability of current systems. He notes:<\/strong> \u2018the world in which we\u2019re living is sinking,\u2018 while also identifying opportunity within that state. \u2018It\u2019s no longer something that is an alternative to what exists,\u2018 he continues,<\/strong> \u2018it\u2019s potential that is growing within the cracks of a system that\u2019s in crisis.\u2018<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n His work approaches these conditions through collaboration. He brings together architects, scientists, and activists to address questions that extend beyond the boundaries of just one discipline.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The discussion also reflects a broader shift in architecture, where provocative representation gives way to direct engagement with materials and social processes. Jaque describes a move toward practices that \u2018mobilize things\u2019 rather than simply render them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This idea aligns design with real-world action that reshapes environments and relationships. In this context, Andr\u00e9s Jaque poses Utopia as an active framework which expands the role of architecture and remains grounded in the realities it seeks to transform.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n dialogue with andr\u00e9s jaque<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n designboom (DB): We\u2019re exploring \u2018what if\u2019 as an optimistic way of thinking that helps our dreams become reality. When you begin a project, do you start with a question like that?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Jaque (AJ):<\/strong> Yes, definitely. I see architecture as a way of anticipating possibilities that are not yet here. We always work with the \u2018not yet here,\u2019 with something that is yet to come. And the \u2018yet to come\u2019 gives architecture the role of expanding the spectrum of what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I think that\u2019s a notion of utopia that keeps me very idealistic, but also practical and somehow grounded. For us, utopia is not about speculation, but about finding tensions in the present that can announce possibilities that would be desirable to make possible.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Your question is very timely. It\u2019s needed, because the world we\u2019re living in is sinking. There are many forms of control that are overlapping and stuck together: destructivism, racialization, patriarchy, technocracy, and also anthropocentrism. These are systems that architecture has helped to produce through modernism. But now it\u2019s cracking, and many exciting things are happening in the cracks.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Utopia is no longer something that exists as an alternative to what is here. It is potential growing within the cracks of a system in crisis. That\u2019s very exciting, because architecture has a clear role there.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n DB: Can you give some examples of what you see as growing in these cracks?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n AJ:<\/strong> Very literally, we designed the Reggio School<\/strong><\/a> as an opportunity for architecture to cater to extended ecosystems, to more-than-human life, connecting humans to landscapes and to many forms of life that are necessary for survival.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The school is located on a former landfill in Madrid, a place with very little biodiversity compared to its surroundings. The project had a responsibility to restore conditions needed for both human and non-human life. This includes air quality and environmental health for breathing, eating, and digestion.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We worked through the materiality of the building. One strategy was developing a fa\u00e7ade made of multiple layers of cork. Cork, sourced locally in Spain, has tiny pores that allow fungi and mycelium to grow. It naturally becomes an ecology. The microorganisms and biodiversity that grow within it influence air, water, and surrounding systems.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The facade has a muddy, irregular appearance. What matters is that we are now tracking the life within it with scientists and microbiologists. The biodiversity in the cork is extensive. This is consistent with cork\u2019s role in wine fermentation, where it supports microbial life.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We are also observing how the building affects the soil. It is becoming more inhabited, and insect populations are increasing. This work involves scientists and activists.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This is a role for architecture: restoring what has been broken, while imagining expanded possibilities. It is about increasing the realm of what is possible.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n DB: In what other ways does your team collaborate with different disciplines?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n AJ:<\/strong> We work closely with activists, which is crucial. Architects are no longer solo authors. This is not a moral position, but a practical necessity. If we want to be relevant or impactful, we need to work with others.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Design, discourse, and activism are inseparable now. This is very different from architecture twenty years ago, when architects often positioned themselves as provocateurs. There is no longer space for disengaged provocation. Engagement is essential, and engagement means collaboration.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n DB: I\u2019ve noticed that in the past couple of decades there was a strong interest in experimental formal gestures through digital modeling or parametric tools. More recently there seems to be a shift toward handcraft techniques or learning from local communities. Have you noticed this as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n AJ:<\/strong> Absolutely. Two things are crucial right now. First, people are less interested in representation and more interested in mobilization. It\u2019s not about producing images that inspire. It\u2019s about bringing realities into existence and involving people in those processes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A large part of early 2000s architecture focused on representation or large gestures. Those gestures are relatively easy. The challenge now is to bring reality into our lives.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also about redefining what architecture is. Younger designers are less interested in delegating complexity to technological aesthetics. Technology is no longer understood as increasingly complex systems. It\u2019s about how societies and ecosystems are constructed.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Previously, the idea of technology was influenced by institutions like NASA, suggesting progress and advancement. Today, the understanding is closer to Bruno Latour\u2019s idea that technology is society made durable (see here<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The question becomes how we organize the world so it is inclusive, represents values, and creates conditions for a desirable life that respects others. This includes building ecosystems and societies that can coexist. That is the notion of technology that resonates now.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Many people also question the idea that technological advancement automatically improves life. There is a growing awareness that it can also be destructive.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"andr\u00e9s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/andres-jaque-office-for-political-innovation-utopia-interview-designboom-01.jpg\")
Andr\u00e9s Jaque, image \u00a9\u00a0designboom<\/p>\n![\"'utopia](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/andres-jaque-office-for-political-innovation-utopia-interview-designboom-02.jpg\")
The Transspecies Palace, Office for Political Innovation, Milan, Italy, 2025. image \u00a9 Jos\u00e9 Hevia<\/a> (see here<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"rambla](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rambla-climate-house-andres-jaque-office-political-innovation-designboom-01.jpg\")
Rambla Climate House, Office for Political Innovation, Molina de Segura, Spain, 2021. image \u00a9 Jos\u00e9 Hevia (see here<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"andr\u00e9s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/reggio-school-andres-jacque-designboom-13.jpg\")
Colegio Reggio, Office for Political Innovation, Madrid, Spain, 2022. image \u00a9\u00a0<\/strong>Jos\u00e9 Hevia (see here<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"rotterdam's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shift-landmark-rotterdam-mvrdv-heatherwick-mecanoo-ecosistema-urbano-OPI-designboom-03.jpg\")
Planetary Landmark for the Climate Age, Office for Political Innovation, Shift<\/a>, competition (see here<\/a>)<\/p>\n