WHO WE ARE
Multidisciplinary Architectural Practice
Founded in Barcelona in 1990
Fundació Palo Alto
We at EQUIP Xavier Claramunt are a Multidisciplinary Architectural Practice which offers three main product lines: Architecture and Interior Design, Industrial Design and Jewellery. We have just recently added a new category to these areas: Responses.
The practice was founded in Barcelona under the name of ADD+ in 1990. Since 2001 it has been based in Fundació Palo Alto, the architecture, image and design company complex in Barcelona. Since 2006 we have operated under the name EQUIP.
PHILOSOPHY
Permanent Reinvention
Closer to People
Approach of Proposal
Our products are based on three fundamental premises:
The first premise is permanent reinvention in our approach to understanding concepts. We always make an unreserved re-evaluation of everything from the developed product through to our attitude towards work and process management.
The second premise is our desire to be closer to people. We propose products which will inspire cooperation between people and will be of use to them.
The third premise is to always follow a proposal approach. We redefine concepts using key words which explain new products to us. We redefine approaches to respond to situations as they arise.
HOW WE WORK
Programme analysis
Location, processes, materials
LAB: training
We work by freeing ourselves of any pre-existing formal conventions, undertaking a constant re-evaluation of the way in which our teams and clients understand their surroundings. Each design proposal has its origins in an idea arising from the program. It is never a preconception or a preformed notion. Establishing a work process defines the end identity.
At EQUIP we work on three product lines concurrently. Creating Architecture and Interior Design provides an essential understanding of space Industrial Design enables us to maintain constant contact with those working in industry while checking project viability and developing innovative techniques at the same time. Jewellery gives a closer understanding of materials so we are able to handle them correctly and use them in an appropriate way.
In order to be prepared for any eventuality, we at EQUIP use LAB. This is a system which consists in working on a specific approach before an actual client appears in order to enhance responses given to our clients’ questions on previous occasions, or to prepare ourselves for future questions not yet formulated. LAB is a training session, a permanent pre-season warm-up which runs in parallel to everyday work.
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CLIENT
Working without preconceptions
The client’s needs
The future client
The main characteristic which distinguishes us from other design groups is our working without preconceptions or preformed notions and ideas. We embark on each process together with the client, analysing information provided so as to attain competent understanding of needs and thus be able to generate proposals according to requirements.
Thanks to such an approach to design we remain close to our client’s main needs, thus avoiding external mismanagement of any kind.
Providing a response to questions formulated by the client and being prepared for those which will be formulated in the future: This activity takes place within the framework of LAB, where work is carried out on dealing with hypothetical future requests as well as establishing models for clients we are yet to meet.
WHAT WE DO
Intimacy
Optimum materials
Solutions
At EQUIP we develop proposals which range from the intimacy and precious materials of jewellery designs to the high degree of viability required by industrial design from the complexity of management and design in architecture, projects to what we call projects without scale, namely giving our responses to any question asked by our clients.
ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
JEWELLERY
RESPONSES