Barcelona – Architecture Studio Session | #02 - Mariona Benedito + Bayona Valero

The Architecture Studio Sessions is a captivating series of ten events that is part of the official UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture 2026 program in Barcelona.

Curated and coordinated by Miriam Giordano, Gaia Pellegrini, and John Hill, leading architecture studios will open their doors to share their workspaces, philosophies, and creative processes across ten engaging sessions. Each event combines architecture with music, featuring playlists curated by the architects themselves to foster connection among all participants in an open cultural format.

Organized by World-Architects and generously sponsored by Laufen, Roca, and Simon, in collaboration with Labóh and L35, the Architecture Studio Sessions promise to be an unforgettable journey of discovery through Barcelona's vibrant architectural landscape.

The studio
Mariona Benedito, architect and co-founder of the architecture studio MIM-A, has been running her own independent practice since 2020 and is co-curator of the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona. Her work is linked to architecture, rehabilitation, public space and ephemeral interventions.

Her practice has been recognised with major awards such as the FAD Award, a New European Bauhaus Mention and the Catalunya Construcció Award. She has also been a finalist for the XV BEAU and the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award, and selected for the 7th European Landscape Biennial. Alongside her professional practice, she is Associate Professor of Architectural Design at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia since 2003, where her research studio was recognised as a finalist at the XIII BIAU, and Associate Professor and Coordinator at IE School of Architecture & Design in Madrid.

Bayona Valero Architects Associates is an architecture studio founded in 2000 by Marta Bayona Mas and Albert Valero Cabré, with a solid track record in architecture and urban planning projects at different scales. Their practice has been mainly developed within the public sector through competitions and institutional commissions, addressing social housing, public facilities, educational and sports architecture, as well as urban and rehabilitation projects. Notable works include the development of 60 social housing units at Illa Glòries in Barcelona, the Mercat del Guinardó facilities complex, the IRB Lleida Biomedical Research Institute and a building of 50 housing units for young people in Les Corts, among others.

The space
The event will take place in the Sarrià–Sant Gervasi district, in the space shared by both studios with other initiatives such as Cities Connection Project, La Invisible and Benito HUB, which offers its generous ground-floor space for the event. The venue has established itself as a platform for debate on architecture, urban planning and the contemporary city, and stands as a virtuous example of collaboration and shared vision aimed at fostering collective reflection on the city, public space and professional practice.
 

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