Carles Oliver
Carles Gabriel Oliver Barceló is an architect trained at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB) and a stonemason master builder by necessity. During his studies, he received scholarships to study at UCLA in Los Angeles, TU Delft in the Netherlands, and ETSAM in Madrid, and worked with Carme Ribas and Pere Joan Ravetllat on collective housing projects. From 2007 to 2009, he shared a studio with Francisco Cifuentes, from whom he learned to design from construction.
Since 2009, he has been a member of IBAVI (the Balearic Social Housing Institute) and served as director of the climate change adaptation project Life Reusing Posidonia (2015–2020) in Formentera, which received the 2021 LIFE Award for Best Environment Project by the European Commission. From 2019 to 2023, he was Head of the Technical Department.
He has co-authored research housing projects in Palma and Santa Eugènia, as well as refurbishment projects including Sant Miquel 19, Can Lliro, Campos Cloister, and Fantasio. Projects designed both individually and as part of the IBAVI team have received awards recognizing their approach, including the Materia Award 2025, Spanish Biennial 2025, nomination for the Swiss Architectural Award 2024, AR Emerging Award 2022, Spanish Architecture 2019, and 2018 FAD.
His work has been widely published and exhibited internationally, including a dedicated issue of El Croquis (219) featuring 24 IBAVI projects. In 2025, he co-designed the Emissions room in the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, curated by Manuel Bouzas and Roi Salgueiro, together with David Mayol.
