The architect and former student and PhD student of the School of Architecture of the University of NavarraYago Vaillo Usón has been chosen as one of the winners of the 23-24 Europe 40under40 Award, which recognizes the 40 most outstanding architects and designers under the age of 40 in Europe. This competition is organized by the European Center for Urban Architecture, Art, design and programs of study and the Chicago Athenaeum (Chicago Museum of Architecture and design ).

"The awards are always received with joy, enthusiasm and gratitude to the jury and the studio to which it belongs, one could not win this subject of awards alone,'' says Yago Vaillo. Currently, he combines his degree program as PhD student at School of Architecture with his work in the Vaillo + Irigaray Arquitectos studio. "I would like to thank this award especially to my colleagues Toni Vaillo and Juan Luis. As I often say, paraphrasing the architect Carlos Lamela, they created the bicycle on which I am now riding and on which I try to give speed with a lot of strength,'' says the award winner.

As for his future, Vaillo is very clear, he wants to move forward with the push of this award which he refers to as an "encouraging air, a recognition of so many hours of work, effort, struggle and suffering".

For Vaillo, architecture involves a "complex integration between the different factors that affect daily life, such as place, culture, program, construction, Economics, strategy, etc. These are aspects that must be permanently combined to offer a condensed result translated into a spatial, compositional and, therefore, formal reality. This necessarily implies a way of looking''.

The award was awarded to the most promising careers of 40 young European architects and designers. In the case of Vaillo, he presented a wide variety of projects, including his project at the end of degree program (a tribute to Joaquín Lorda, a deceased professor at School of Architecture), a housing block in Pamplona and another in Zizur, the remodeling of the Basque Museum in Bilbao, as well as multiple national and international competitions in Switzerland, Germany and Qatar.

project remodeling of the Basque Museum in Bilbao by Yago Vaillo.
 

When asked about the way in which he tries to differentiate himself with his work, he identifies himself with the figure of the architect who is both composer and orchestra director : "The architect must not be a simple virtuoso of composition or interpretation, but must also develop a facet core topic such as organizational and leadership skills and, therefore, a clear strategic vision. All this from an eminent vocation of service, understood in the broadest sense of the word, which must respond to the needs of man: physical, emotional, functional, spiritual...".

The projects of the 40 winners will be presented at the exhibition entitled 40 Young European Architects with New Visions, which will be inaugurated in December 2024 to coincide with the submission awards ceremony at The European Centre in Greece. In addition, Metropolitan Arts Press will publish a special edition based on the sample which will be available internationally.

Image of the project of the end of degree program by Yago Vaillo Usón in honor of the deceased professor of the School of Architecture Joaquín Lorda. CEDIDA

Image of another of the projects presented by Yago Vaillo, a housing block in Zizur (Navarra). CEDIDA