Murado & Elvira is a Madrid-based multidisciplinary office founded by Juan Elvira and Clara Murado in 2003 dedicated to innovative architecture and interior design. They propose a sustainable approach to design, where user participation, shared creativity and building techniques seek to benefit both society and nature.
Their work has been awarded in many national and international competitions and has been exhibited at prestigious venues such as the Mostra Internazionale de Architettura di Venezia or the Bienal de Arquitectura Española. It has been a finalist at the Norwegian National Architecture Prize Staten Byggeskikkpris 2012 and selected at the Bienal Española de Arquitectura y Urbanismo 2013.
Clara Murado studied architecture in Madrid ETSAM and spent one year at the IUAV in Venezia (Italy). She met Juan Elvira during her academic career and started their collaboration right there. After completing her degree in architecture, she completed a master's degree in Advanced Architecture Design at Columbia University in New York with a scholarship from the Barrié de la Maza Foundation. Back in Spain, after a stay at the Ábalos & Herreros studio, she founded Murado & Elvira with her partner.
Clara is a Project Design associate professor at the Universidad de Arquitectura de Alcalá and a visiting professor at national and international schools. Along with her academic and professional career, she runs an editorial task as editor and director of diverse architectural publications. Her love for graphic design and visual thinking led to the funding in 2015 of M& E Gráfico, the bi-dimensional twin of M& E Arquitectos.
Juan Elvira studied architecture at Madrid ETSAM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and at the IUAV in Venice (Italy). He met Clara Murado during his academic career and began their collaboration there. After completing his degree in architecture, he also studied for a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design at Columbia University in New York, with a scholarship from the La Caixa Foundation (2000). When he returned to Spain he was director of the magazine Oeste de Arquitectura together with Clara Murado and Enrique Krahe and finally founded his own studio Murado & Elvira Arquitectos.
He obtained his PhD with honours in 2015. The manuscript is called «Ghost Architecture. "Space and Production of Environmental Effects" was awarded the first mention in the thesis award of the Arquia / Tesis Foundation in 2015 and was a finalist in the Ibero-American Architecture Biennial 2016.
Juan is a Professor of Architectural Projects at ETSAM and a professor of Urban Strategies at IE University. He is a visiting professor at the UCLA Berkeley College of Environmental Design and other national and international universities. He collaborates with the COTEC Foundation for Social Innovation, where he has been a member of the network of experts "The 100 of COTEC" as an expert in architecture.
Alongside his academic and professional career, he has also developed an intense critical and editorial activity. He is the author of numerous books, and essays in specialized books and magazines. He recently published the book "Ghost Architecture" in the prestigious Polyhedral Collection of the Asimétricos Publishing House in 2021.
