A new dialogue with existing architecture

Reuse before building. Move towards an economy of means. Densify without occupying more land. Aim for adaptability. The city as a valuable material bank. For Nomos Architects, the present and future of architecture lies in all of this.

Decarbonising architecture is the main theme of the A@W conferences in Madrid. Today, what should be prioritised to achieve this goal?
The priority isn’t technological, but strategic. Before thinking about new materials or systems, we need to change how we approach a project. Decarbonising starts, first and foremost, with reusing rather than building, avoiding demolition, and working with what already exists as a resource. The greatest potential lies in the huge material capital we’ve already built. Renovation allows us to preserve embodied carbon and reduce resource consumption. Architecture needs to move towards an economy of means, where doing more with less isn’t a limitation but a driver of the project.
The real change has to be cultural: we must stop approaching the project as a clean slate and start seeing it as a conversation with what already exists. Most of the city is made up of “ordinary” buildings, with no recognised heritage value, and that is precisely where the greatest potential for transformation lies. Intervening in them is not only a matter of energy efficiency but also an opportunity to produce architecture and give new meaning to what exists.

You propose transforming cities by converting interior architectural spaces. What strategies do you use?
It’s a quiet, but highly effective way of transforming the city without building more city. We’re interested in activating underused spaces, introducing new ways of living, and working with intermediate spaces (thresholds, filters, winter gardens) that expand possibilities of use and soften the relationship between indoors and outdoors. All of this without resorting to grand gestures. These projects highlight what we might call “ordinary” architecture. They are interventions with a direct impact on the city: they allow densification without further construction and reactivate the existing urban mesh. In this sense, interior transformation is also a form of urban project.

In your architecture, the use of colour - both indoors and outdoors - is quite significant. What purpose does it serve?
We don’t see colour as an isolated aesthetic choice, but as a tool that forms part of the architectural process. It isn’t applied as an added layer; it emerges from the construction system itself or from the project’s logic. We’re interested in its ability to make space legible, link elements, and modify perception, but also in how it introduces a material and sensory dimension tied to the construction process.

What materials and systems are essential for 21st‑century architecture?
We don’t believe universal materials exist, but rather materials that suit each context and are understood as part of a system. The future of architecture depends less on inventing new materials and more on using what we already have, but better. We are particularly interested in local materials, with low embodied energy and, whenever possible, reused.

Should architecture today be conceived as fully reversible?
More than reversible, we should aspire to adaptable architecture - capable of evolving over time. Spaces not fully defined, that can accommodate different uses and transformations without major interventions. Reversibility is a useful tool because it facilitates future changes, extends the lifespan of buildings, and reduces waste. However, not everything can or should be reversible. We’re more interested in thinking of architecture as an open support, one that can absorb changes. The goal is not so much to dismantle, but to avoid the need for demolition.

What are the “enemies” currently preventing progress in sustainability?
The main obstacle isn’t technical but cultural: we still believe that building anew is best. Added to this are other factors such as the culture of demolition, regulations poorly adapted to renovation, an economic model focused on new construction, and an excessive reliance on technological solutions rather than passive strategies. We design buildings as finished objects, when in reality they are processes that evolve. Sustainability isn’t decided at the moment of construction, but in how a building is able to endure, adapt, and avoid being replaced.
In this context, it becomes essential to start understanding the city not just as a collection of buildings, but as a materials bank. Every urban transformation mobilises huge amounts of resources which, instead of being reintroduced into new cycles of use, end up as waste. Ultimately, the problem is that we still don’t see what exists as a resource. Yet the city already contains within itself a large part of the solution.