Vostok chats with A-cero’s Joaquín Torres
A few weeks ago we got together with Joaquín Torres of studio A-cero architects for a quick chat. Putting his public persona aside we found a man who is confident, humble and honest. He has a no BS approach that is quite disarming. Here are a few snippets from that conversation:
I couldn’t care less about architecture magazines. Of course it’d be great if El Croquiswrote about my work but, to be honest, I know it has less to do with the quality of my work and more with the fact that I’m not part of their clan. Early on I came to terms with the fact that publications like these –publications targeted to architects or designers- do nothing but feed our own egos. I’d rather appear in magazines that are less prestigious but reach the public we are interested in.
If nobody knows you exist, it doesn’t matter how good you are or how wonderful your work is. Knowing how to sell your work and the product you do is crucial. Unfortunately most of us architects believe we are beyond good and evil and that we don’t need this.
It’s the world you should aim for. I have learned from other spanish businessmen that Spain falls short in many ways. So we opened a branch in Dubai in part due to an architecture prize we won and following the advice of one of our client’s at La Finca. Since then, we have invested a lot of time and energy in making the studio international. We opened branches in Ho Chi Minh, in Bombay and tried in Santo Domingo and Sao Paulo, though we ended up closing these last two in the end.
I live in a state of chronic dissatisfaction. I always feel that we should do more and better. And I don’t give up until I get it. I have the advantage –or the disadvantage– of being overly critical of my work. I know when something is good and when something is not. I don’t need others to judge fairly the quality of my work.
I’m very demanding but I consider myself just. I have very clear ideas of what needs to be done and how to do it. I know how to value things that are done well and things that don’t work. And I’m not scared of saying it out loud and putting my finger on it. I think I have surrounded myself with a group of loyal collaborators because of it.
We think we have the monopoly on good taste but what we actually need to do is listen. The most important thing is to keep the client happy. In the end he’s the one who is going to live the house day in and day out.
We should put ourselves at the same level of our clients. If they talk to me about Mies van der Rohe then great, we can push the level up. If they don’t, then we should keep it simple. It depends. In the end, architecture is about the way we interact with space. And anyone can relate with that.
Internet is not the future, it’s the present. I guess I realized intuitively that having a solid online presence was critical. Social networks are very important to us. I invest at least two or three hours a day to answer comments on our blog, tweet and update our profile on Facebook. We have a communications team that oversees this full-time but in most cases I like doing this personally.
I never use computers. I just use them for social networks. I do sketches by hand. I stopped using AutoCAD years ago. Although we have a great team of draughtsmen in our studio who use the best and latest programs, I do corrections by hand.
We have an amazing client portfolio. I’m proud to say 99.9% of them are happy clients that do nothing but recommend us. A-cero‘s popularity is based on word of mouth. When people criticize my work I always ask them: Have you been there? Have you been in-situ? Have you talked to the client? Have you asked him why he’s so satisfied with our work?
There are three turning points in my career: designing my father’s house in Galicia, knowing when to say ‘no’ to clients and my friendship with Luis García Cereceda. I will always be in his debt. For his friendship for his faith in me and because career-wise the La Fincaproject opened up many doors and brought about many more projects. Not everybody is as lucky. I was and I made the most out of it.
You need much more than just talent to succeed. Yes, I’ve been lucky but the true recipe is to work, work, work. Work more than anybody else. And know how to sell. How to sell yourself.