Founded by Fermín Vázquez and Ana Bassat in 1997, b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos is based in Barcelona and Madrid. The architecture practice has been instrumental in shaping both cities, with emblematic projects such as Torre Agbar and El Mercat dels Encants in Barcelona, and the La Matriz campus and the VP Hotel in Plaza España in Madrid. Partner Pablo Garrido explains the thinking behind the interior design of the firm’s two offices.

What were you looking for when you went searching for your two offices?

Pablo Garrido: We wanted our offices to be in city centres, making them easy to get to for our staff and clients. In both cities, we’re on the ground floor of late-20th-century residential buildings – the sort that are typical of vibrant Mediterranean cities, where multiple uses and activities are combined. The neighbourhoods bustle with commercial, residential and recreational activity. 

What kind of environment did you want to create for your staff and visitors?  

PG: We aimed for an environment that was comfortable, pleasant and efficient. We’re not out to impress our clients with a studio architecture of spectacle and glamour, but rather to show how we work with sincerity and integrity.

What are their key interior design features?

Probably simplicity and rationality. We aim for clean, neutral spaces. This doesn’t mean that in our professional practice we renounce a more complex or sensual architecture, but in our home, we prefer a certain clear-headedness. Another more practical feature is the management of storage space. The back walls feature continuous storage shelves, which hold our library, sample collection and models. 

Your interior design in both locations is dominated by white. Why is that?

In our professional practice, we’ve played with colour in numerous projects, such as Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, where we collaborated with Jean Nouvel. Colour can have enormous expressive power, but in our workplace, we’ve opted for a more chromatically muted environment.

In our studios, we rely on white for its brightness and visual cleanliness. White allows us to enjoy excellent natural light conditions even in the deepest spaces. We’ve opted for white with a certain radicality, including walls, floors, ceilings and furniture, thus making light a hallmark of our spaces. 

Do colours or finishes have any role in your studios?

We prefer a certain restraint, using mostly white with some occasional bright tones in the upholstery, exposed concrete and recently, with the addition of natural wood elements. More than colour, these provide a warmth and materiality that remind us of the joy of working with natural materials.