The jury said:
"authors of an extensive work in a long joint career that will soon celebrate fifty years of uninterrupted collaboration, during which they have tackled projects of all kinds, from the most problematic periphery to their international commissions, in which they were pioneers in our Between his work, of open and risky architecture, the construction and renovation of some of the most significant public spaces of Spanish architecture in the last decades is counted, always from a fresh language, that combines civic commitment with respectful attitude towards the landscape and the historic city, constituting an example of innovation and constant search"
The last monograph of the study of both architects was published in 2014. Both were awarded the RIBA International Fellowship in 2015.
The National Architecture Prize, endowed with 60,000 euros, is promoted by the Ministry of Development, which awards the award at the proposal of a jury composed of outstanding professionals.
José Antonio Martínez Lapeña and Elías Torres Tur have their studio in Barcelona and have been responsible for large projects, both public and private, many of them deserving of several FAD Architecture Awards. They stand out among them los Jardines de Vil·la Cecília en Barcelona (1986, Premio FAD de Arquitectura), el Hospital Comarcal de Móra d’Ebre en Tarragona (1988, Premio FAD de Arquitectura), varios edificios de viviendas en la Villa Olímpica de Barcelona (1992, Premio FAD de Arquitectura), el Museo de Arte de Kumamoto en Japón (1992), la Plaça de la Constitució en Girona (con J. Esteban, A. Font y J. Montero, 1995), la restauración del Park Güell en Barcelona (1993), las viviendas en la Colonia San José en Madrid (1995), las escaleras de La Granja en Toledo (2000), Premio Manuel de la Dehesa de la VI Bienal Española de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, la Explanada y Pérgolas Fotovoltaicas del Fórum Universal de las Culturas, Barcelona (2004, Premio Especial de la Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura de Venecia), la renovación de la Alameda de Hércules en Sevilla (2008), el Hotel Hiberus en Zaragoza (2008), el Centro Cultural del Carme en Badalona (2012), el Paseo de la Ría en Huelva (2016).
In addition, they have restored the Church of l'Hospitalet in Ibiza (1984), the Castle of Ibiza (with X. Pallejà and S. Roig, 1991), the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes (1990), the Bellver Castle (1993). ), the Ramps to Castelldefels Castle (with M. Usandizaga, 1993), the Paseo de Ronda and the Fortresses of the Walls of Palma de Mallorca (1991-2017), the Casa Vicens de Gaudí (with Daw Office, 2017).
Among the single-family houses built include the Boenders (1982), the Gili (1987), the V. Marí (1994), the Coast (2003) and Can Cucons (2010), all of them on the island of Ibiza; the Rauchwerk House in New Orleans (1992) and the Mas House in Barcelona (2000).
In the field of ephemeral interventions include the exhibition "El Escorial: Biography of an Era" in Madrid (1986), the Follie 7 for the Expo Osaka'90 and the installation "9m² (+ o -) of Instruments for overhead light " (1999). Also works of interior design such as the Ferretería Torres-Guasch in Ibiza (1985), the Library of the Reina Sofía Art Center in Madrid (1989) or the Portal of the Church of Sant Gaietà in Palma de Mallorca (2009).
Among its designs of urban furniture, the team of architects has recognized pieces such as the Lampelunas street lamp (Delta Gold Award ADI-FAD 1986) or Pal·li Bus Marquee Barcelona (Delta Silver Award ADI-FAD 1988, with JL Canosa), which was the first element of a new conception of urban furniture that would regenerate the city of Barcelona, characterized by the association between design and advertising exploitation.
The jury was formed on this occasion by Juan Navarro Baldeweg (National Architecture Prize 2014), Rafael Moneo Vallés (National Architecture Award 2015, who acted as President of the Jury by unanimous election of the same), Juan Bordes Caballero (at the proposal of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando), Elisa Valero Ramos (at the proposal of the Conference of Rectors of the Spanish Universities), Sara de Giles Dubois ( at the proposal of the Superior Council of the Associations of Architects of Spain), Beatriz Colomina (at the proposal of the General Directorate of Architecture, Housing and Land) and José María Cruz Novillo (at the proposal of the Federation of Associations of Journalists of Spain). The Secretary of the jury was Antonio Aguilar Mediavilla (General Director of Architecture, Housing and Land of the Ministry of Development), and the Secretary of minutes, Francisco Javier Martín Ramiro (Deputy Director General of Architecture and Building of the Ministry of Development).
