Fran Silvestre
Fran Silvestre is one of the most prominent Spanish architects in recent years. Born in Valencia, he graduated with top honors in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and in Urban Planning from Eindhoven University, Netherlands. In 2016 he obtained a PhD degree with cum laude distinction from UPV.
After specializing in the Netherlands, where he collaborated with the prestigious MVRDV studio, in 2002 he moved to Oporto to work with the globally renowned Álvaro Siza, Pritzker Prize and Doctor Honoris Causa from various universities. This experience with Siza would be definitive in his training, assimilating the Portuguese master's spatial and lighting sensitivity.
In 2005 he founded his own studio, Fran Silvestre Architects, in Valencia. Since then he has developed a prolific career that has earned him numerous accolades nationally and internationally. His referents also include the sculptor Andreu Alfaro and architects such as MVRDV.
Fran Silvestre's projects are characterized by modulation, seriality, attention to detail and masterful use of light. Noteworthy works include the Alfafar Art and Auditorium Center (2008), Casa del Atrio in Valencia (2009), Casa del Acantilado in Calpe (2011) and the recent Casa Balint in Bétera (2014) and Casa entre la Pinada in Valencia (2016).
These and other works have earned him awards such as the MHK in Berlin, the Nagrade Hise Award, the Red Dot Award, the Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism and the IFCC in New York. His work has been extensively published in specialized media such as GA Houses, On-Site, TC Notebooks or Arquitectura Viva magazines. He also appears in books on contemporary architecture from prestigious publishers such as Taschen or Phaidon.
Beyond his work as a designer, Fran Silvestre has developed an active teaching career. He was deputy director of the School of Architecture at UPV and is currently a professor at this university and at the European University of Valencia. He has also taught classes at the University of Kansas and collaborates frequently with internationally renowned architects such as Álvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura and Carlos Ferrater in the MArch Architecture Master's program at the European University.
Recently, in 2018, his studio won the competition to create a large complex in the Chinese city of Qingdao, a project that will undoubtedly consolidate Fran Silvestre's international prominence. At just over 40 years old, this Valencian architect is positioned as one of the Spanish figures with the greatest projection on the current architectural scene, with a personal style based on spatial serenity, compositional balance and the search for light.
