Nicolau Corbacho, Alberto

Architect (1995) and PhD in Architecture (2016) from the Madrid School of Architecture (ETSAM).

He began his professional career in London, where he worked for two years at Norman Foster’s practice. On his return to Madrid, he joined Rafael Moneo’s office, where he worked for five years. In 2002, he founded Nicolau Architecture, an architectural practice focused on distinctive projects at a range of scales, with particular attention to architectural and construction quality.

He has won several national and international architectural competitions, and his work has been widely published in Spanish and international professional journals. He has also participated in exhibitions in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy, including the exhibition at the Spanish Pavilion at the 2002 Venice Biennale. His principal works include the Suburban Loop project in Almere, Young People’s Housing in Seville, the Spuimarkt housing development in The Hague, and the Municipal Swimming Pool in Valdemoro, which received the Aplus Award for Best Sports Architecture in 2010.

Since 2002, he has combined his professional practice with teaching at the Department of Architectural Design at ETSAM, where he has taught architectural design at different levels. His research focuses on two main areas. The first is architectural design theory, with particular emphasis on the role of concepts as tools for the conception and development of architectural projects, the subject of his doctoral thesis. The second concerns research into new forms of dwelling, which led to the publication in 2021 of the book Penshirubiru: Collective Housing in Japan Taken to its Limit.