Architecture in family

CitadelLife teaches us lessons, but we also draw –significantly– from our first experience at home. And that of Elies Serrano Colom, born in Es Mercadal (Menorca) eight years ago, has been heavily marked by his parents, Óscar and Laura, both architects. As a family, they turn every one of their trips into an opportunity to discover cities through their most iconic buildings, which Elies sketches in a personal notebook.

“I know everything,” he used to tell them from a very young age, and they wanted to show him that he doesn't actually know everything and that life is a continuous learning process. So one day, while walking through the Parc de la Mar in Palma, the idea arose to transfer the whole family's shared passion into a book. The same one they have been presenting since March at libraries and fairs in Sóller, Maó, Es Mercadal, Ferreries, Es Castell, Alaior, and Barcelona, and which they will also present this Friday the 13th as part of the Open House Lab in Palma.

“We are especially excited,” admits the mother, Laura Colom (Palma, 1984), former Director General of Territory for the Balearic Government and current architect at the Council of Menorca, as she sees it as the culmination of the project she has launched together with her son. Both are co-authors of I Know It All, which Laura defines as “a unique way of helping people understand architecture, preparing for trips through drawing.” The ones that appear in the book, which is already in its second edition, are partly hers, but also those of little Elies, who since he was three years old has sat next to his father in the cities they visit and draws the main features of the building in front of him. Parents and son stay in the tallest hotels to be able to have the best view of the facade of the city’s buildings.

“It is Elies who introduced me to children's literature,” says Laura, who does all the presentations together with her son, in participatory workshops that entertain the audience attending them. In I Know It All, Elies points out: “We explain everything with almost no text, just drawings.” Printed and edited by Lligall Gràfic, the digital printing house of the Foundation for People with Disabilities of Menorca, I Know It All is an illustrated children’s picture book in a notebook format that allows for shared reading between children and adults. It is presented with a distinct aesthetic, from the abstract concept of its content to the materiality of its pages, which combine different textures. From the black cover—which reproduces one of the books by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier—to the vellum paper, the grammage, or the stickers—created by Elies himself—that invite the reader to interact with it constantly. In fact, there are even instructions on how to make a paper airplane origami.

“Since I was little, my parents also took me on trips and turned my room into a library. I have always been surrounded by books and very fond of traveling and painting,” comments Laura. “Travel, architecture, drawing, books, paintings… They are all reasons to share moments as a family,” she adds.

In 2012, Laura Colom already held a first exhibition about one of her trips to China. Now, since becoming a mother, she has passed on her passion to Elies during the trips the family has taken in recent years to Amsterdam, Nantes, Bordeaux, Paris, Rotterdam, Vienna, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Geneva, Zurich, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Manchester, and Liverpool.

When they went to Paris, they didn't think of visiting Disneyland, as most families would. “It didn't even cross our minds! Our dream was to see Le Corbusier's house. Elies called it the mysterious house,” says Laura. “I've always been interested in visiting mysterious houses,” Elies agrees. They are different. “When we go on a trip, we don't buy souvenirs, but instead, we go into art supply stores and buy all kinds of pencils and graphite.”

The project has awakened the creative spark in the whole family. From Laura, who is already thinking about shaping another illustrated book for minors about urban planning, territory, and climate change, and also from little Elies, with imagination and skill for drawing. Although at first he was going to be a policeman, these last few years he already says that he will pursue a career as an architect or graphic designer. It runs in his veins.