Through the Looking-Glass…

“Through the Looking-Glass…” (and what visitors found there) is a clear reference to Lewis Carroll’s 1871 book, in which Alice considers what the world must be like on the other side of the mirror in her house. In our case, we consider what the courtyard of the Royal Monastery of La Puríssima Concepció would look like through the multiple mirrors that make up the irregular prism that we place in its centre; in so doing, we play with perspective and with the way we see and understand the courtyard itself.

We play with reflections, with the multiplication of the elements in the courtyard, with how the perception of a place can be altered and how the perception of the same can be modified. This idea of altering spatial perception resembles the visual effects that appear in several well-known films such as Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010), Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson, 2016) or the Matrix trilogy (Llana and Lilly Wachowski, 1999-2003).

THE AUTHORS

“Through the Looking-Glass…” is the proposal presented by the New:Old Studio, made up by Ángel Cuadrado and Lucía Heras. Without neglecting architecture, they are also engaged in product design and, more recently, in the design and organisation of weddings and events. They are currently researching the possibilities offered by new technologies such as 3D printing, digital manufacturing or augmented and virtual reality.

Ángel Cuadrado is from Madrid and an architect specialising in Heritage who graduated from the University of Alcalá (Madrid) and who received an honours award in 2015 for his Final Degree Project. He also achieved an honours qualification in his Postgraduate Course on Heritage Conservation from the same university. He has been an illustrator for the newspaper El Mundo, and has received several awards in national and international architectural competitions and awards in international comic competitions. In addition, he has more than 10 years experience in architectural studios and management of work teams and technical offices.

Lucía Heras is from Madrid, a specialist architect in Heritage who qualified at the ETSA (School of Architecture) of the University of Alcalá (Madrid) in 2016, and a graphic designer. She has received several awards in national and international architectural competitions. She also has experience in street furniture, corporate image and stage design, as well as in wedding planning.