Meet Iñaki VOLANTE | Architect, Executive Director of Baukunst Academy in Spain.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Iñaki VOLANTE and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Iñaki, how has your background shaped the person you are today?

I was born in Chile, but I am the son of Italian immigrants and the Basque Country. I have always been interested in architecture, especially drawing and making models of planes or ships. I have also always been very interested in reading history: from Egypt to World War II. I also grew up watching a lot of movies in real movie theaters, like in the old days and that made me pay attention to the spaces of the cinemas and their projections, the mezzanines and also the lobbies that were a true spatial beauty. My mother especially taught me visual arts and showed me very important works of art in my training. Finally, that allowed me to fully concentrate on architecture, which is not only my profession but also a lifestyle to be of service to others. I have always liked teaching and I really like researching, my specialty is modern architecture, which is a passion, especially post-war modern architecture and specifically the work of the one I consider my master: Mies van der Rohe.

Today I am dedicated to the dissemination of architecture through Baukunst Academy on social media, which has transformed me into an influencer on new generations of students who are deeply interested in the topics that we develop in the academy. I have more than 25 years of experience as a teacher and I have had the honor of creating an architecture that represents me and of which I am very proud.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

For me architecture is an objective art. That is why we feel very represented by the German term Baukunst which can be translated as Art of Building. I think this concept defines very well what I currently do and perhaps what I have always done: projects. First I started with architecture projects but today it has spread to the field of visual arts, urban art, conceptual art and also to construction. I think that for me the most important thing will always be to build: build a look, build an opinion, build a concept, build a work of architecture that makes the people who inhabit it happy. Building is a silent event, which is why my family and I live in a very small city near the Catalan Pyrenees, where there is silence and quality of life, far from the noise of big cities that have failed in many aspects. Destroying is loud and fast, it’s pretty easy for the most part. On the other hand, building is difficult, it requires time and attention.

This more bucolic context allows us to have more attention in everything we do, and that has a fundamental value: creativity. With much less resources we now do better projects, we have ventured into conceptual art and I have received very good invitations as a visiting professor at very prestigious European universities and architecture centers like Arc en Reve in Bordeaux recently. I think that the viral emergency made me reflect on many aspects and this time has become something very uncertain in the world, and that instead of making me uncomfortable, it has been a way of releasing creativity on different levels. In any case, I must clarify that it has never been easy, important things are never easy. But I did them with a lot of courage, being brave, never feeling comfortable with everything I’ve achieved up to now. For that it is important to be focused. Today our Baukunst Academy project is the most important of all and I am very interested in seeing it preceded by the prestige of those of us who do it. Prestige is the most important thing in professional life, it is the most important of the civilized aspects of humanity, it is something universal. For the same reason we want to be an alternative to traditional institutions that have failed in many aspects and for the same reason we do not want to repeat the most common mistakes of architecture schools today.

My story is about effort, teamwork. Learning how to take advantage of opportunities, have good luck and good friends too.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The academy house is in Balaguer, a city of 15,000 inhabitants an hour away from Barcelona. It is a beautiful site with medieval monuments and ancient ruins. The Segre river crosses it, which organizes a beautiful river park. If I were to receive a special friend, I would take the following route: I would invite him to lunch at Cal Pepito Bistro, a black rice and a red wine from the Segre coast. Then I would take him to see the Aran Valley, between the mountains and the eternal snow. Then in the morning we would go skiing to Andorra, with deep and splendid snow. After resting, I would cross to France in the direction of Perpignan to eat huître, the divine ones. In the morning I would cross the Costa Dorada returning to Spain in the direction of Barcelona. I would have seafood and cava for lunch in Sagaro, one of the best beaches I know with beautiful architecture. At night I would go to an English 90s acid/house bar in Salou. At noon I would leave in the direction of Barcelona to eat at the best restaurant of all: Botafumeiro in Gracia. A marvel for the most demanding palate. In the morning I would have brunch at the Hotel W in Barceloneta and then visit the Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe in Montjuic. A must.

I would eat a delicious lunch at paseo del Born, and return to the Mandarin Oriental hotel on Paseo de Gracia. In the evening I would go for tapas in the Gothic, getting lost in the dark and ancient streets of Barcino at night. Late at night I would take him/her to dance at the best micro disco in the world: La Macarena, where the DJs only play vinyl and dance until dawn. Finally, before going to Terminal 1 at El Prat, I would take the friend to say hello to my master and teacher Helio Piñon to verify that to be an architect you need a lot of effort and an iron temper.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

As I said before: for me architecture has a vital connotation, it has been with me since I was very young. But my life changed when I saw a photograph of the case study house 21 by the southern California architect Pierre Koenig. That was in 1993. He´s architecture inspired me and motivated me to study it in depth. In 1994 I did my professional practice at Kohn, Pedersen, Fox architects in New York City and that meant a huge boost in my career. Then, when I returned to Chile and recently graduated, I won an important professional architecture and urbanism competition that catapulted me as a professional and gave me a lot of prestige among my peers: The Museum of Atacama Desert in Huanchaca Ruins, Antofagasta.

That experience in NYC and winning such an important competition at the age of 25 made me want to learn much more about modern architecture that helped me so much as a student. In 1998 I won a scholarship to study for a doctorate at the ETSAB (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona) and there I met my mentor, the architect and project professor Helio Piñon. He showed me the path of rigor and taught me to project like a professional, I will always be indebted to him for the lessons he continues to give me to this day. Thanks to him I had the honor of personally meeting the architect Pierre Koenig, who was always my hero. I met him at Baily House, CSH 21, and then at his house in Glendale. It was an incredible experience to meet and interview him a year before his death. My thesis project for the PhD was on Mr. Koenig Ouvre.

My partner and wife, also an architect, Eugenia Soto Cellino, has always been a great support and is a fundamental pillar of Baukunst Academy. The architect Mathias Klotz, the most important contemporary Chilean architect in my opinion, has been a permanent help in my professional development and today he is our partner at Baukunst Academy. He is an extraordinary architect who knows very well the values of modern architecture and is also an excellent teacher. Finally I must acknowledge my parents that without their support I would not have gotten this far in my life. And finally to my friends, teachers and colleagues Andres Elton and Isabel Deves who saw my talent and effort as a young student. All of them have been very important for my current condition.

Website: baukunstacademy.com

Instagram: baukunst.academy

Linkedin: Iñaki Volante

Twitter: @Reuniondeobras

Facebook: Baukunst Academy

Youtube: Baukunst Academy

Other: For further information feel free to write at: baukunst.tv@gmail.com contacto@baukunstacademy.com

Image Credits
Museo del Desierto de Atacama. CPV Arquitectos 2009. Pictures by Sergio Pirrone and Iñaki Volante for CPV Arch. Aerial view of Atacama Desert Museum: Gerhard Hüdepohl, 2008. “The Neon is a Lie. The Bridge Too”. Public Art Installation 2022 by Baukunst Academy. Picture by David del Val Photo. Baukunst Academy crew: Iñaki Volante, Eugenia Soto Cellino, Vito Volante. Picture by Enzo Volante.