Maria Rius, Arnau Tiñena and Ferran Tiñena have received the Europe 40under40 Architecture and Design award, which identifies the generation of architects who will influence the living and working environments of the future

Maria Rius, Arnau Tiñena and Ferran Tiñena, lecturers at the URV’s School of Architecture, are responsible for the NUA Arquitectures studio. This December they were given the Europe 40under40 Architecture and Design 2022-23 award by the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies and the Chicago Atheneum: Museum of Architecture, Art and Design. The award is for those people who identify as members of the generation of architects and industrial designers who will influence the living and working environments of the future and who, at the same time, have a vision of the architectural and design scene in Europe.

These lecturers are members of the only Catalan study to have been given the prize, which has also been given to four other studies from the rest of Spain. They have all had a career that goes back more than fifteen years and have proven their worth before the age of 40.

Maria Rius, Arnau Tiñena and Ferran Tiñena set up their architecture studio in Tarragona in 2013 and explore the fields of architecture and design on different scales using strategies that are sensitive to the memory of spaces and the environment. They also try to respond to the contemporary social and cultural challenges of cities and territories with interventions that aim to improve people’s lives.

All three combine professional practice with teaching and research, focusing on the regional scale, urban projects and the collective housing.