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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (Wednesday 18 September) named Ensamble Studio, led by architects Débora Mesa and Antón García-Abril, as the recipient of the 2019 RIBA Charles Jencks Award.

The RIBA Charles Jencks Award is given to an individual or practice that has recently made a major contribution internationally to both the theory and practice of architecture. The award will be presented on Monday 4 November at the RIBA in London at a special event chaired by Charles Jencks, including a lecture by Débora and Antón.

Ensamble Studio was founded in 2000 and now has offices in both Madrid and Boston. Works include Hemeroscopium House and Reader’s House in Madrid, The Truffle in Costa da Morte, Telcel Theater in Mexico City, Structures of Landscape in Montana (USA) and, more recently, Ca’n Terra in Menorca and Ensamble Fabrica in Madrid.

Débora joined Ensamble Studio in 2003 and is Ventulett Chair in Architectural Design at Georgia Tech College of Architecture. Antón received the Spanish Academy Research Prize in Rome in 1996 and has been a professor at the School of Architecture and Planning of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) since 2012.

Speaking about winning the 2019 RIBA Charles Jencks Award, Débora and Antón said: “We have found an ever-expanding field for exploration and invention in architecture – one where every built work is just the beginning of the next project to come, in constant evolution and full of creative uncertainties. One that has the enormous potential to transcend our own actions and become part of bigger ideas, bigger endeavours and greater communities. The RIBA Charles Jencks Award has a challenging mission and a humbling list of recipients, so winning it is as surprising as encouraging. We receive it with great happiness and gratitude, eager to do much more and much better.”

Chair of the RIBA Charles Jencks Award judging panel and RIBA Director of Education, David Gloster, said: “Débora Mesa and Antón Garcia-Abril are bold in their work, which explores the powerful combination of placemaking, functionality, refinement and beauty, in both urban and rural areas. Ensamble Studio is a highly collaborative practice built on the personal, professional and academic strengths of its staff and is a great example of using creative thinking to navigate architectural challenges.”

Tickets to attend the Ensamble Studio 2019 Charles Jencks Lecture are available here