“Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio” opens in Milwaukee

Ensamble Studio is a cross-functional team based in Madrid and Boston, founded in 2000, and led by architects Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa. Balancing imagination and reality, art and science, their work innovates typologies, technologies and methodologies to address issues as diverse as the construction of the landscape or the prefabrication of the house. From their early works—SGAE Headquarters, Hemeroscopium House or The Truffle in Spain—to their most recent—Ensamble Fabrica in Madrid and Ca’n Terra in Menorca, Spain—every project makes space for experimentation aiming to advance their field. The essence of their work is brilliantly captured by photographer James Florio, who traveled to Spain, Mexico and the US, to experience and express architecture through his lens. The title of this exhibition, Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio, and most of its content, is borrowed from the monograph that architect Iker Gil of MAS Context published in 2021, offering an in-depth look at the practice of Ensamble via Florio’s art. The exhibition is hosted by the School of Architecture & Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and sponsored by the Marcus Corporation Foundation. Antón and Débora are honored to be the recipients of the 2021 Marcus Prize, which has given them the opportunity to come to Milwaukee to teach a design studio together with Professor Lindsey Krug.

The photographs in the exhibit are part of the ongoing work by James Florio titled “On, Light, Time, and Materiality.” Florio’s photography captures a stillness and depth outside the rapid and hurried frame in which architecture is so often depicted and shared. Over three years, Florio immersed himself in Ensamble Studio’s projects to gain a more profound understanding of their spatial qualities and the elements that shape and transform them. This body of work is a reflection and an exploration of Ensamble’s practice over the past twenty years with an emphasis on the themes of light, time, and materiality in their oeuvre. The images serve as windows into these elements and foster a deeper understanding and connection to the structures around us. Many of the photographs on view were completed for the monograph Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio, which was published in 2021. The remaining photographs are part of Florio’s ongoing work made possible through the help and generous support of a long-term artist residency at Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana.

Design and installation assistance by Lindsey Krug, Alex Timmer, and the students enrolled in the 2022 Marcus Prize Studio at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Opening reception with Ensamble Studio, James Florio, and Iker Gil
Tuesday, November 1, 2022, 5:30PM

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The School of Architecture and Urban Planning
2131 E. Hartford Avenue
Milwaukee , WI 53211