Lucía Cano

Lucía Cano Pintos (born Madrid, September 27, 1965) is a Spanish architect. Cano, together with José Selgas, cofounded the Madrid studio SelgasCano, whose work is distinguished mainly by the use of polychromy, creative exploration with new materials, and an understanding of the relationship between architectural work and surrounding landscape.

Training Cano's father was the award-winning Spanish architect Julio Cano Lasso, a great source of inspiration for her, and they would collaborate on projects until his death in 1996. Cano obtained the title of Architect, with an outstanding qualification, in 1992 from the Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid.

Career highlights At the beginning of her career, Cano worked in the studio of her father Julio Cano Lasso (1920-1996) together with her brothers Alfonso, Diego, and Gonzalo, where she had the opportunity to participate in projects such as the Sace Laboratories Building on the university campus of Murcia (1996-1997). The family team was led by the father, who instilled an interest in painting and art in his eight children. Lucía, the youngest of the studio's four siblings, remembers that she was always very close to her father, who was continuously drawing and writing, even while resting. The children saw him enjoy his work so much that Lucía wanted such an experience for herself, eventually becoming a member of his Cano Lasso Studio until 2003.

In 1997, she began her professional relationship with José García Selgas, with whom she founded the SelgasCano studio in 1998. The studio has produced numerous works of international recognition. Their project for the Badajoz Conference Center (1999-2006) raised the prestige of the Madrid studio in its early days, while their "Office between trees" (Madrid, 2006-2007) brought the studio high-profile status, as the work was the most visited project of the ArchDaily blog. Embodying the playfulness that is characteristic of SelgasCano's works; its bright colors and organic shapes evoke a festive, childlike imagery. Yet, underneath this playfulness lies political and ecological assertions: as the materials used on the pavilion, such as methacrylate, are more sustainable and recyclable than traditional architectural materials like glass, the work suggests a new, resourceful vernacular. Their projects have transformed existing buildings into vibrant backdrops filled with curving forms and greenery, which has become Second Home’s signature architectural style. The bright palette and choice of furniture created an energetic office space for small- to medium-sized groups to work and interact. Due to the flexible nature of the spaces, SelgasCano’s proposal ensures a range of activities and events can take place in shared areas for everyone. The architectural firm has designed a total of four office spaces in London, one in Lisbon, and a 90,000 square feet campus in East Hollywood. We draw inspiration from many sources that lie outside architecture. After all, we are not building for architects but for the people out there, and they can often judge a building better than certain experts ... We don’t even try to invent things; this is not the job of architecture. For us it is much more important that we allow ourselves the greatest possible design freedom. We like to use unconventional materials, for example, or play with colors. Often our decision for a certain material is also the result of a limited budget. SelgasCano views architecture as a freedom of interpreting what is seen in new ways. In any project, there is always something staring at the architect—something to be sought out and understood. Still, Cano’s approach to architecture is a union of experimentation with function. For Cano, aspects of art—such as freedom or open-mindedness—can be incorporated into architecture in a sense of experimentation, of “seeing how far you can go.” Her work has been featured in magazines such as Architectural Digest, Arquitectura Viva, and El Croquis, which even dedicated a monograph to her in volume number 171 with a review of her work between 2003-2013.