Concéntrico is the renowned Logroño International Architecture and Design Festival. An event about the city, open to residents and visitors alike, its main goal is to discover and rediscover key sites in the Historic Center, reflecting on the urban environment through temporary architectural and design installations. This year, the 8th edition will be held from September 1 to 6.
In late May, the Goethe-Institut Madrid hosted the presentation of the 20 teams participating in this new edition. All the organizations, institutions, and companies involved in the festival attended. The architecture and design teams represent various countries: Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Colombia, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland, Norway, and Hungary. This outstanding cultural diversity brings great value, offering highly varied and compelling proposals.
As in previous years, several installations will be exhibited in the gardens of the Ministry of Development. However, there will also be new locations, including Monte Cantabria, Obispo Bustamante Street, and Parque del Carmen. In addition, the event will feature exhibitions, lectures, and meetings with the designers.
The 20 participants consist of the invited creators: Matali Crasset, Konstantin Grcic, Associates Architecture, Tudor Vlăsceanu, Germane Barnes, BUD CUD, Tableau CPH, Piovenefabi, Rintala Eggertsson Architects, Izaskun Chinchilla, Architecture Uncomfortable Workshop, Dallas, Inventaires, Pawel Grobelny, Pool is cool, SKULL studio, and Yemail Architecture; as well as the winning teams from the three international open calls: AAA, Ander López + Sarai Olabarrieta, and Collective X.
There are also two guest schools: Escuela Superior de Diseño de La Rioja and Central Saint Martins - Gonzalo Herrero + Pati Santos. In addition, two new collaborative institutions have joined this year: the British Council and Wallonie-Bruxelles Architectures.
Discover the proposals in detail below.
Invited Teams + Project - Location / Country of Origin / Coproduction
This proposal consists of a space connecting the Paseo del Espolón with *"la Concha"*, the stage that anchors the area. Evoking the shape of an owl, this installation dialogues with "la Concha", welcoming visitors of all ages.
The designer proposes three interactive installations in Felipe VI Park, consisting of large circular structures with diameters of 10, 18, and 20 meters, equipping the space with play, sports, and musical elements.
The architects propose an *"extraordinary gate"*, located where Marqués de San Nicolás Street and the Camino de Santiago meet the ancient city walls. Suggesting a potential restoration of the walls, the structure aims to bridge the current gap to accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Built from green-painted wood, the portal emulates the temporary gates constructed in Logroño during the San Bernabé Festival, as well as the shape of the nearby Revellín Gate. The installation seeks to establish a historical, morphological, and material connection with the city and the collective memory of its residents.
Utilizing an unstable architecture, Vlăsceanu evokes the concept of shelter by proposing a fragmented structure that occupies the central space of the courtyard. Featuring four openings—three at its corners and one on top—it frames views of the four existing palm trees on site, integrating them into the design.
The architect designs a playful meeting space that aims to transform a street intersection into an area for social interaction. His intervention turns a transit zone into a gathering space by introducing functional elements that encourage people to linger.
With *"Semillero urbano"* (Urban Seedbed), the Polish team explores a new way of bringing nature back to public spaces. The project is an atlas of multifunctional furniture, acting as a spatial experiment on the removal of urban vegetation during the revitalization of public spaces.
This compelling initiative proposes that, through a participatory app, citizens can design their own chairs, directly engaging in a reflection on the nature of our cities. The application offers a catalog of existing chairs adapted from iconic contemporary designs. Participants choose a starting model, to which they can add elements to improve comfort, as well as icons or illustrious local figures, while selecting their own color patterns.
In addition to the invited participants, Concéntrico 08 hosted three international competitions for installations at three different sites: a pavilion in Plaza Escuelas Trevijano, an intervention on Obispo Bustamante Street (both in Logroño), and a dual-site installation spanning Viña Lanciano (Bodegas LAN) in Spain and Quinta do Seixo (Sandeman) in Portugal.
The project "Una mesa" (A Table) by the Uruguayan architects AAA won the competition for the Plaza Escuelas Trevijano Pavilion. Meanwhile, the project "¡A la mesa!" (To the Table!) by Spanish architects Ander López and Sarai Olabarrieta was selected for Obispo Bustamante Street. Finally, the Mexican-Polish studio Collective X won the vineyard installation with their project "El arquetipo de la casa" (The House Archetype).
Concéntrico has been held since 2015, organized by the Cultural Foundation of the Architects of La Rioja alongside Javier Peña Ibáñez, the initiative's creator, in collaboration with the Logroño City Council and the Government of La Rioja. Its main partners include Garnica, Bodegas LAN, and Sogrape. Over the years, the festival has also garnered the support of more than 30 international institutions and organizations.
See the following link for the complete schedule of Concéntrico 08.
This article was written by Mili Sánchez Azcona. The translation is powered by AI.
