By Federico Garcia Beard.
Self Portrait of Angel Luis Shopkeeper for one of his comics.
The progressive introduction of information technology and communications are assuming a substantive change in the marketing of professional services. It's something he understood well the Madrid architect Ángel Luis Shopkeeper, cuya page ALT Architecture + Work is currently 1.067.000 followers on the social network Facebook.
Home of the Facebook page ALT Architecture Work
This overall transformation process has coincided with a dreadful economic crisis in Spain, in which the construction sector has borne the brunt. And, thereby, the architects of this country have had to start competing in a belligerent by a meager job market has been narrowed to limits unimaginable just five years ago. In 1997, official scales were removed as well as fees and the number of technicians has continued to grow, architectural projects became scarce. Some dealt with this by gradually lowering prices to get orders, while others have tried going abroad.
All the rich landscape that existed in the Spanish architecture in the early has blown up in the explosion of the housing bubble ten years later, plunging into a terminal crisis the whole Spanish construction sector. In this situation of disappearance of the technical work associated, continued reduction strategy no longer works price. Spanish professionals have had to invent different and innovative strategies to compete in a minimum market. This has coincided with the rapid expansion of telecommunications, information technologies and social networks, due to which people are experiencing a radical change in their relationship with the world and the market. Faced with the decline of the traditional physical media access to knowledge and information, such as daily newspapers, magazines and books- emerging everywhere intangible collective communication media with renewed identities are constructed in all areas of culture and the economy. A process that is influencing many social and economic areas.
Angel Luis Shopkeeper drawing in which is presented as an admirer of the great city
As with the practice of the professions, in which the digital identity is becoming prominent. It is showing the case of Angel Luis Shopkeeper architect, a benchmark of success in marketing management services related to Internet. ALT Architecture + Work, Facebook platform this architect from Madrid, architecture is the page with the most followers in the world surpassing that of renowned architects like Zaha Hadid, whose number of followers does not reach half.
The analysis performed in the same situation as professional architects in the service of society itself is very interesting. Angel L. Shopkeeper believes that architects live in a bubble in which only explains the work itself from a budget based inbred, dogmas and criteria only understood by those in the guild. For him, in a situation of extreme scarcity and competition, is necessary that the product of architecture can be understood by the general public beyond the traditional media to enter the profession often. In this regard, understands that traditional-technical publications such as magazines and books-, those that have reported the most important practices, media will disappear as paper-based physical.
Main Zone Roncero House. Alt Architecture. San Sebastian de los Reyes, Madrid. 2011
Shopkeeper believes that the sale of services is essential to build a powerful Internet presence and, especially, on social networks. The same has focused intensely and exclusively towards the development of a professional platform on Facebook. Through his personal page on the social network, has built an autobiographical related to his work as an architect.
The Madrid architect has come from a handful of projects in the metropolitan area of Madrid. It is clear that already had a career linked to small residential work. From there wanted to present the way it has been making these works, in detail and using colloquial language.
Interior House Alv & Nat.Alt Architecture. Madrid, 2012
The criteria with showing their work and concerns, are quite concise: simplicity and diversity. Seek simplicity in their personal space by way of education, using plain language and accessible to those who want to understand their approach to work, experts and lay. The diversity applies to the distribution of his personality on the net, has to do with their concerns and capacities. First, ALT has a great aptitude for drawing, what is expressed through the comic format. It, has followed the example of Bjarke Ingels -the young Danish architect so fashionable in recent years-, whose comic book format, qualified Yes is more, has had a great track in international architectural circles. Shopkeeper Angel Ingels criticizes the proposal that blames its low propositional content and predominant orientation to self-promotion. However, it is presented as the central character of his magnificent drawings in which imaginary journeys made by the cities and places you enjoy and inspire, exerting superhero Spiderman how architectural.
Another set of items that care is referred to the explanation of systems and construction processes used in its work. Each project is described in detail in a particular album on Facebook, using for this photographs, plans and images of the execution of the works. It is a form of novel architecture that makes. Ultimately, intrahistorias narrate about their particular course leading creative, from the beginning to the most specific anecdotes and final details. As he himself says: "Having the process is more important than the final result".
The architect as comic superhero. ALT Book Comic Book
Also, hence explains his impressions of visits to cities in their quest to provide personal insights and suggestions. That intimate tone that presents what he sees adding comments that reveal his thinking about places and buildings, in any case, adds credibility and authority to a person trying to lead and motivate those seeking to understand the role of architecture and improve their living environment.
ALT Architecture + Work has reached the highest level of monitoring in Latin America, especially in countries like Mexico and Argentina. His followers are, above all, pretty young people, taking special prestige among students of architecture. Thus, the didactic component is essential in its approach to brand.
What it does have clear Angel Luis Shopkeeper is that with the avalanche of information available today, digital identity builder must focus on your target audience, who had to accurately identify and meet with extreme dedication. And he, exclusively, concentrates its focus on the daily construction of your Facebook page (no other sites in the network and all the possible trafficking directs it to that point). And while it has generated presence on other platforms such as Twitter all serve to direct and concentrate the casual visitor to her principal space on Facebook.
As he himself says, the professional architecture exceed the microworld in which they live. The real impact of the messages currently occurs when I expand understanding can exist beyond the slang characteristic of each. Today it is imperative to have a presence on the Internet to reach a vast audience and achieve influence. Only then society and politics will address the arguments of architecture, to gain access to the public each.
We will have to buy your personal sketchbook, ALT Comic Book. Then, an interesting video interview with the magazine have since Q9, edited by students of the School of Architecture at the Salle de Barcelona.
ALT Architecture. Overview page of Angel Luis Shopkeeper Facebook
Alt Comic Book. An approach to architecture. Metalocus 03/04/2013
Presentation of ALT Architecture. Platform Architecture 20/03/2013
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