Applying Creativity to Architectural Projects – PLUTARCO

Stuck with a blank page and a vague brief? Ana and Enrique from PLUTARCO show you how they turn references into a clear concept that actually convinces clients. You will follow their real process from first idea to final presentation and learn to back every choice with a story.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• How to build a solid project concept from visual and cultural references
• How to tell active research apart from passive research and use both daily
• How to document, organize and archive references so you can reuse them
• How to translate a concept into a mood board that sells the intention
• How to apply references to specific rooms, materials and details
• How to present ideas with storytelling and react fast to client feedback

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Basic interest in architecture or interiors, no advanced drawing skills needed
• Tools: Notebook or digital board app for collecting images and notes
• Hardware: Computer with internet connection for research and presentations

📝 Description

Most projects fail not because of bad taste, but because the idea behind them is fuzzy. Ana and Enrique start there. They show you how they justify every decision with references and storytelling, so the client gets it right away. No vague mood talk. Just a clear thread from idea to space.

You will learn their two-track system for finding ideas. Active research is what you do when you have a brief on the table. Passive research is what you collect every day – photos, trips, books, random screenshots. Then comes the unglamorous part that makes it all work: documenting. They give you a simple way to tag, save and retrieve stuff so you are never starting from zero.

Then you get practical. You take a real assignment, sketch a first concept, hunt for the right references, and pull it all into a mood board. After that you map those references onto actual rooms, materials, colors and furniture. The course follows EXPERIMENTO Madrid, their creative lab with gallery, coworking space and event rooms, so you see how a single story can hold very different uses together. At the end, you learn how to present fast, handle pushback, and always have a backup example ready.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Architects and interior designers who want stronger concepts behind their projects
• Designers and creatives who struggle to explain and sell their ideas to clients
• Students or career-switchers building a portfolio with story-driven proposals

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

PLUTARCO is an architecture and design studio founded by Ana Arana and Enrique Ventosa in Madrid. They are known for colorful, narrative interiors that mix interior design, art and graphic identity without feeling forced.

Their work includes EXPERIMENTO Madrid, a hybrid gallery, coworking space and venue, plus residential and commercial projects across Spain. They teach their reference-based method because that is how they actually win work: clear concept, solid research, fast presentation.

🏁 Final Result

• A complete concept proposal for a creative multi-use space in the spirit of EXPERIMENTO Madrid, with documented references, mood board and applied design decisions ready to present