Alejandro Beautell is a Spanish architect based in Tenerife, Canary Islands. His professional activities focus on residential construction, tourism, landscaping and other areas. According to his architectural concept, on one hand, architecture should be a contact with space and contemporary forms, and on the other hand, a deep respect for the role of tradition in architectural culture.

Yinji：What kind of opportunity did you choose to establish Alejandro Beautell?
Beautell：My father is an architect so architecture has been present in my life since I was a little boy. But when I graduated from the university I decided not to join my father´s practice and instead I started to work for a different architectural studio based in my home island of Tenerife. On the side I was also working with my friends and participating in as many architectural competitions as possible. We were lucky enough to get some recognition and win a few prizes. At the same time (around 2005) I started to receive some requests from possible clients and it gave me confidence and the courage to start my own office.

Yinji：If you use a paragraph to describe your design style, how would you elaborate?
Beautell：For me it is not a matter of style, but more of the attitude towards each project as a new challenge. Each time it is an intellectual journey to understand the place, the preexisting use of it, the surrounding landscape and the history of the place. In a way I always try to start free of any preconceived ideas, to start right from the beginning like it was my first project ever. Photo by Flavio Dorta and Efraín Pintos

Yinji：What do you think of the relationship between material and space? What material do you like? How to create the mottled feeling of the wall?
Beautell：I have to repeat once again that for me in architecture it is not possible to separate the different elements that combined together form buildings. Architecture is like an answer to complex needs and problems, where everything is related to each other. When I start designing I always part from the place where the building will be constructed and from its history, and that indicates me the materials that should be used. For example Canary Islands are quite remote and not very industrialised, we don't produce bricks or ceramics, all the wood has to be imported. But with the local rocks we can make concrete that is very beautiful and easy material to work with, and also it remains the volcanic stone which forms the landscape of the Islands. Then we use different techniques to obtain the effect we are looking for by adding pigments to it or by hammering its surface.

Yinji：How to give the building a sense of tranquility? A sense of healing?
Beautell：By following the famous "less is more" approach, haha. I believe we need to stick to the essence of the project. Like in your personal life if you are looking for peace you have to consciously remove all the distractions and accept things being simple just like they are.Photo by Flavio Dorta and Efraín Pintos

Yinji：How to introduce light into the building? What is your design principle?
Beautell：That always depends of the needs of the given building and the natural light that particular plot of land can rely on. For example, in the case of the Canary Islands, the sunlight here is very strong and vertical all year long, so in many occasions our main task is to protect the building and its users from too strong sun exposure. Sometimes we need to filter that light so it smoothly fills the space, while in other cases we can focus it to highlight something that needs to be brought forward.

Yinji：How do you see the the relationship between minimalism and Art Deco?
Beautell：I am not attached to labels. I don't try to name things. I see architecture as a global project that needs coherence and balance. For example the interior design cannot be detached from the structure of the building, or from the landscaping of the plot. All complex elements that go into designing a livable space need to form part of one global idea, and what's most important be aligned with the history and culture of a given place.

Yinji：Your favorite design master? What enlightenment did they give you?
Beautell：I have to admit that I don't have one master, I think I have learnt something valuable from each of them. But one Spanish master is especially important to me. It is Jose Antonio Coderch who happened to be my father´s master (at the beginning of his career my father worked in Coderch´s office). Thanks to this personal relation I know not only his architecture but also his work ethic and his personal approach to the profession of an architect. He used to say "it is not geniuses what we need now" , and I strongly identify with this statement.