Interview Javier Senosiain

At May 5, 2014 / by Swan Villas / In News / Comments are off for this post

Javier Senosiain, international architect, born in Mexico with his grandfather from Spain, besides to be a key exponent and explorer of so-called organic architecture, is the head who is behind this Project of Swan Villas, which combine the design with the business as a income property

See his work at: https://www.arquitecturaorganica.com/

What is organic architecture and what does it mean to you?

Organic architecture creates spaces adapted to man which are womb-like, similar to animal’s homes. It also fulfills its owner’s environmental, physical, and psychological needs.

At an international level which designs are your references in organic architecture and what are your most interesting designs?

Mainly the architecture of Antonio Gaudi, and to a lesser extent the Uruguayan architect Eladio Dieste, as well as the Mexican architects Enrique Castañeda Tamborrel and Juan O ` Gorman.

I understand that there is nothing in Belize of this kind of architecture. Why now, and what kind of customer do you believe values this type of architecture most?

Environmental awareness, the development of software that allows not only for the design but the calculation of structures that were previously very difficult to run allow for this type of architecture. Remember that Sydney’s Opera House exceeded optimistic estimates of the initial cost by 1400 percent. Furthermore, the spread of Internet architecture has enabled more people to be interested in buildings of another type of architecture, an architecture that does not harm, but integrates.

Do you really think that this architecture is integrated with the natural wonders of Belize, and to what extent?

There are no straight lines in nature, with the exception of minerals—and it would be paradoxical to think about integrating buildings in nature based on boxes instead of buildings based on natural forms. When you see organic buildings, it is difficult not to associate them in one way or another with existing forms in nature—a bird , a dinosaur , the form of a plant—and therefore it is equally difficult to not see them as integrated in their environment.

How does a customer take in all this artwork of curved lines, which breaks the culture of straight lines that until now have been predominate in architectural design?

Throughout our many years of experience we have found something—regardless of differences in social, economic or educational level, people who like this architecture and enjoy living in it are people who like to commune with nature and people who like to dream; people who dislike convention. Such people greatly enjoy living in a house of this type. It has also been very obvious to us that usually younger customers are more willing to accept these types of designs.

And on this project, what do you highlight the most? Why the design of these swans?

Usually architects never try to start a project that looks like “something”; the form will be determined by the needs of the project. In this case the swan’s neck allowed us to accommodate a large tank of water to minimize the need to use pumping equipment, and the general shape of the houses was adopted to direct views towards the focal point of attention, while smaller windows on the blind side of the house allow for cross ventilation in the various rooms.