In Matadero you can enjoy this Modular system made of cardboard and Velcro for multiple tangible and intangible community self-construction processes.

Memory of project

““Do It Together” is a modular, self-assembly masonry system made of cardboard and Velcro that was designed by Husos. The aim was to have a space that can be determined and gradually built first, by the community of artists participating in the artistic project “Here Together Now“ and then, by other artistic resident programs in nave 16.1 in Matadero during 2013. It revives the tradition of using paper and cardboard in architecture by proposing a system of large boxes stuck together with Velcro, a technique that is reversible, and at the same time highly stable. This system is designed to provide flexibility and enable self-construction of a space, giving each individual and each community of artists the opportunity to build their own working place and choose how they want to interact with one another.

Once a residence program finishes and the venue is to be used for new purposes, the nine hundred 1mx1mx50cm cardboard boxes, kept together by Velcro bands, can easily be reused. By simply stacking the cardboard blocks, the artistic communities who receive the boxes as a legacy once a previous project is complete, can create different forms of privacy or connect workspaces, as well as build shelves, counters and seating units.

“Here Together Now” was the first project in nave 16.1 during 2013 that has enabled HUSOS to explore this system as a spatial tool for the construction of a community, not only from a physical perspective, but also from an immaterial one, based on the affections and ideas that emerge when a community makes important decisions on the setting up of a common living space, and organises itself to carry out seemingly banal tasks like cutting and sticking Velcro together.

Text.-Husos.

CREDITS.-

Design.- Husos (Diego Barajas, Camilo García, Xavier Robledo).
Agents Involved.- Artists.- Theo Firmo, Sibel Horada, Iz Öztat, Diego del Pozo, Dilek Winchester / Art Writer.- Cristina Anglada / Mediación.- Pedagogías Invisibles: Andrea de Pascual, Eva Morales López, David Lanau / Coordinación Matadero.- Manuela Villa, Olivia Rico / Mediación espacial.- Husos: Diego Barajas, Camilo García, Xavier Robledo.
Mounting.- Cristina Anglada, Diego Barajas, Miguel Ángel Benjumea, Andrea de Pascual, Theo Firmo, Camilo García, Sibel Horada, Iz Öztat, Eva Morales López, David Lanau, Verónica López, Jacqueline Ordoñez, Diego del Pozo, Paula Poblete, Olivia Rico, Xavier Robledo, Carolina Solar, Montse Soria, Manuela Villa, Dilek Winchester.
Coordination.- Manuela Villa, Olivia Rico.
Client.- Matadero Madrid.
Surface ship.- 1000 m².
Budget.- 3.748 eu; 3,75eu/m².
Location.- Matadero Madrid, Centro de Creación Contemporánea, Madrid. Nave 16.1.
Date.- 2013. Mounting: 2-8 January. Work process: 8 January – 12 February. Public presentation: 13 February – 10 March.

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Husos arquitectura is an architecture practice based in Madrid, founded in 2003 by Diego Barajas and Camilo García. While based in Madrid, they operate between Spain and Colombia. Husos is a platform for developing architectural and urban planning projects, encompassing both research and direct intervention in space. Through an ecological approach to everyday life, they explore the role of these practices in the flourishing of new imaginaries, affects, and subjectivities. Husos is headquartered in Madrid and operates regularly between Spain and Colombia.

They have been pioneers in the Hispanic-European architectural context, developing interscalar and multimedia approaches (Dispersión, 2002), interspecies cohabitation activism (Edificio jardín, 2005), LGBTQ+ urban perspectives (Urbanismos bear, 2006), and decolonial activism (Dispersión, 2002; Urbanismos de remesas, 2017; and Espacio Afro, 2021, among others).

Their work has been nominated among the ten European studios shortlisted for the 2024 Dorfman Prize – Royal Academy of Arts, in the UK. It is part of the permanent collections at the FRAC center in Orléans and the Rotterdam History Museum. They have also received first prize at the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction (Gold, Europe – 2023) and recognition from the Zumtobel Award for Sustainability and Humanity and the XV Spanish Architecture Biennial. Their work has been presented at the Venice Biennale, the Rotterdam Biennale, the Oslo Architecture Triennale, the Tàpies Foundation, the Quito Biennale, Ecovisionarios, Archilab, the MAC/CCB in Lisbon, and the Luca/Luxemburg Center for Architecture, among others. They are the authors of the book *Urbanismos de remesas, viviendas (Re)productivas de la dispersa* (Caniche Editorial, Madrid, 2017). This book was awarded the ArtsLibris Fundació Sabadell prize in 2019 and is currently part of the permanent art collection of the Fundació Banc Sabadell in Barcelona.

They have developed projects for CA2M - Museo Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Centro de Creación Contemporánea Matadero Madrid, Centro Cultural Espacio Afro, Fundación Daniel y Nina Carasso, the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport, Casa de América, Instituto Cervantes, Rotterdam History Museum, Universidad del Valle, Rotterdam Biennale, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Oslo Architecture Triennale, São Paulo Architecture Biennial, Taller Croquis, and Instituto Cervantes, among others.

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Published on: October 24, 2013
Cite:
metalocus, ÁNGELA SOLÍS
"DO IT TOGETHER, a project by Husos" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/do-it-together-a-project-husos> ISSN 1139-6415
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