Antonio Cruz, Architect, Pioneer of Light

Architecture as a gift

By Chus Rodríguez

With architecture having formed part of his life since the age of 16, Antonio Cruz has worked in many fields on different scales with his practice, Cruz and Ortiz Arquitectos. Its has recently completed the spectacular Wanda Metropolitano, Atlético de Madrid’s football stadium.

What is the greatest satisfaction that you get from your work?

There are many moments of satisfaction, especially solving problems that have been playing on my mind when different challenges do not connect. And then there is the moment of arriving at the architectural form. That’s very satisfying, especially at the end of a piece of work, when a project is well received, and people understand it. And the last thing would be the ‘gift’, when that piece of work gives you something unexpected, something that you had not foreseen and that allows you to see it in a different way, just as the sun sets and light reflects at various unexpected angles. Something unpredictable that is full of beauty.

“I’ll settle for being an architect. Now everyone wants to be an artist, and I get very tired of hearing it.”