Architect, co-founder
Julio Kowalenko
Julio is described as the studio’s artistic spirit. He thinks of architecture as a liberal, unstructured thing.
The founders of Atelier Caracas
Julio Kowalenko & Rodrigo Armas
Two architects, one studio, very different minds.Where it started
Friends first, then a studio.
Julio Kowalenko and Rodrigo Armas are Venezuelan architects who became friends while studying at Universidad Central de Venezuela. In 2015 they founded Atelier Caracas together.
They are often described as opposites. Julio is the artistic spirit who sees architecture as loose and unstructured. Rodrigo is rational, sharp and diligent. What they share is a fascination with cultural complexity, a willingness to take risks, and the wish to change how architecture is talked about.
That mix shows in the work: ideas that start from ordinary things, a school renovation in Caracas, and shows at international art fairs.
Architect, co-founder
Rodrigo Armas
Rodrigo is described as the epitome of rationality, sharpness and diligence, a counterweight to Julio.
Together
Two ways of thinking, one body of work.
The partnership is built on difference. Their shared belief is that questioning architecture is how it gets redefined.
Sources
This profile is compiled from public sources and written in our own words.