Since 2011 the Spanish Association of Architecture Institutes (CSCAE) has been giving honorary medals to individuals and entities it considers to have contributed significantly to the advancement of architecture and the profession. In this year’s cycle, the main awardees have been two very different practices with long trajectories behind them: the firm of Enric Batlle and Joan Roig, based in Esplugues de Llobregat, in the Barcelona metropolitan area; and that of Rafael de La-Hoz Castanys, working from offices in Madrid. The former is characterized by its sensitivity when acting upon urban spaces and natural landscapes, and also by a delicate architecture firmly rooted in the context; the latter, by its professional structure and its capacity to tackle major corporate and international commissions, which are always resolved with iconic reliability and technological expertise.

The CSCAE has this year also acknowledged the achievements of Grupo de Estudios y Alternativas GEA 21 S.L. and María Ángeles López Amado, director-general for architecture and housing of the regional governnment of Extremadura.