Architecture Awards 2020

38 2020 Architecture Awards BUILD Jun20396 ince the beginning, Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd have been huge advocates in the belief that designers have an incredible power over shaping daily lives, influencing how individuals interact with their cities, how we communicate with one another, working in offices and learning in schools. The team feel strongly that they, as successful designers, have an obligation to design for everyone. As such, Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd’s mission is to design both inclusive and sustainable environments which are best suited to everyone’s special needs. There is currently over one billion people across the globe who experience some form of disability, which equates to 1 in 7 people and this figure is expected to rise drastically. At Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd, they aim to raise awareness and turn the standard “four walls” into specialised designs that cater for each person’s special needs, thus improving the running of their daily lives. In order to fill this gap in society, the team at Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd relies on personal experience, along with the expertise of outsourced specialists within the field. Through an inclusive participatory process, the firm works tirelessly to fully understand the needs that need to be attended in each project, as well as giving those who are less-able a voice and the opportunity to make their dreams a reality. S Best Special Needs Architecture Firm 2020 Operating from the UK, Spain, and Cyprus, Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd is an emerging RIBA Chartered Practice. Specialising in projects, internationally, for people with special needs, the firm is driven by their strong passion for social awareness, sustainable design, and a responsible architecture. attention, especially paid into the design and implementation of sustainable inclusive environments which are suited to everyone’s special needs. Even long before the COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019, the team have seen a great need for a more ‘responsible architecture’. Nowmore than never, reflecting on the nature of the needs to attend, the team believe that we all need to rethink ability and accessibility, to then use them as powerful tools to design differently. Currently, the team at Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd are already making a difference in the field of architecture for disabilities, and have launched their new website, which includes features about some of their ongoing architectural projects for clients with special needs in the UK, Spain and Cyprus as they approach the completion stage. Additionally, it also highlights a collection of product designs from their community engagement/special needs workshops in response to their monthly news articles about ‘hidden places’. Looking ahead to what the future holds, the team at Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd are striving for social value, collaborating with different community groups and working together to solve problems spatially through projects that will contribute to making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, with ethical outcomes beyond the UN’s 17 goals for 2030. Ultimately, the team aim to be pro-active as opposed to re-active to the climate change issues through their development and integration of innovative sustainable solutions and eco-friendly materials into everyone’s four walls, thus contributing to a greener and cleaner future for all. Company: Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd Web Address: www.mondejar.co Although there have been significant advances in recent years, especially in terms of regulations, architecture for disabilities, has unfortunately been a vastly neglected area. Mondejar Architecture Studio Ltd recognises that this area has not received enough