The funeral back in the domestic realm of architecture in ”Three Ordinary Funerals” by Common Accounts

Common Accounts is an experimental design studio based in Madrid and Toronto directed by Igor Bragado (Gernika, Spain, 1985. Lives and works in Madrid, Spain) and Miles Gertler (Toronto, Canada, 1990. Lives and works in Toronto, Canada). They explore situations where design intelligence is abundant but under the radar. Trained in architecture but working fluidly between art and design, they channel cultural, technological, and historiographical material into radical architectural proposals, using speculative fiction and drawing upon social narratives and practices from the past to project alternative systems and futures. They shape environments and consult, teach, and inquire into the immediate future of architecture. The studio’s output often materializes in reports, narratives, building, image, installation, and video.

The work of Common Accounts has been recognized with The Architectural League Prize, The Rome Prize from Real Academia de España en Roma, in T Magazine Spain’s 2019 list of influential designers, and in Platform Architecture‘s 2022 round up of 40 under 40 European design practices. Recent exhibitions featuring the work of Common Accounts include Foodscapes, The Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale (2023); Greater Toronto Art 2021 at MOCA (Toronto); A Section of Now at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (Montreal, 2021); or (Re)Design Death at the Cube Museum (Kerkrade, NL, 2020). Miles Gertler is Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream at the University of Toronto, and Igor Bragado is Adjunct Professor of Design at IE University in Madrid.

 

Igor Bragado (Gernika, 1985) is a Spanish architect, designer, and writer recognized for his critical and experimental approach to contemporary architecture. He co-founded the Common Accounts studio with Miles Gertler in 2016. His work explores the intersection of body, technology, and space, addressing themes such as fitness culture, cosmetics, and funerary rituals.

He has been awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome (2019), the Writing Prize of the Design History Society (2017), and the Suzanne K. Underwood Prize from Princeton University (2016). His work has been exhibited at institutions such as the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea, and the Azkuna Zentroa in Bilbao. He has also participated in biennials and triennials in Venice, Istanbul, Toronto, Madrid, and Seoul.

Bragado has published in academic journals such as METALOCUS, Perspecta (Yale), Room 1000 (UC Berkeley), and Cornell's Journal of Architecture, and has written articles for publications such as Babelia (El País) and NEO2. He currently resides in Madrid and is a professor at IE University.