Founded in 2004 by Sebastián Machado, at Mano Arquitectura we design buildings in a careful and detailed manner, where both the setting and the people who inhabit them are the main influences on how they’re made.
Our interdisciplinary team is comprised of professionals from various disciplines, united by a shared passion for quality craftmanship and things that are built to last.
Urban design, landscape, architecture, engineering, interior design and furniture design integrate seamlessly in each project, expressing timeless ideas which honor the past while looking to the future.
With each stone placed signifying a responsibility to the environment, we seek to create buildings which blend into its landscape and creates a dialogue between people and place, with the awareness of the instinctive human desire to connect with nature.
Through careful selection of genuine materials, subtle plays on light create atmospheres which activate the senses and, with them, the memory. The smell of wood, the echo of stone, the touch of stucco: the materials are selected thinking about not only the present, but also considering their way of aging, their way of accepting the passage of time, the patina caused by wear and their ability to fracture yet remain beautiful.
We envision work that seeks to broaden the inherent wisdom of the site, bringing in new elements which enrich its surroundings. We aspire to create timeless architecture that can create new sensations.
We like to think that our projects are destined for those who observe with careful attention, those who pause and reflect.
“An architectural work can have artistic qualities if its various forms and contents converge in a strong atmosphere capable of moving us. ” — Thinking architecture, Peter Zumthor.
