Casa del Curato
Maria Heinrich grew up between urban Germany and rural Spain and her practice is based on bridging spatial, social and ecological boundaries across Europe. She works in and around architecture, combining different disciplines and art forms.
Until last year she worked as a researcher at the Nieuwe Instituut, where among other projects she co-curated the exhibition "Garden Futures" in collaboration with the Vitra Design Museum. Her freelance practice ranges from hands-on building projects to academic research and artworks. She has collaborated with institutions across Europe, such as the Architekturmuseum München, the Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, the New Ruralities Consortium and MonU magazine. Her focus on architecture as process is also reflected in her educational work, she has taught at the TU Delft, is currently involved in creating an independent experience-based academic institution in Berlin and has given guest lectures at UPenn and Universiteit van Amsterdam. Maria is currently co-editing a book on symbpoeitic spatial production for the Ecologies of Architecture group at TU Delft and she is a Fellow at Holcim Foundation and UCL.
Maria holds a Masters Degree in Architecture from the TU Delft and a Bachelors Degree from TUM.
The project was born from an intense engagement with the heritage of my family that resulted in a Master's thesis on the village of my maternal grandmother, Caleruega. Located in the plains of central Spain, the village has provided a wealth of inspiration and local knowledge that have motivated me to turn a speculative and theoretical project into a physical manifestation of communal collaboration.
Casa del Curato is a building from the 17th century that was once the home of the "curato", the caretaker of the souls of the parish. It has not been used in the last 50 years and fallen into disrepair, similarly to many structures across Europe. I have acquired this building to create a space of encounter, research and art based on local practices and international collaboration. The building will ultimately be used to house art residencies that encourage creatives from the outside to engage with the local ecosystems and knowledge, as well as the community. The word "curato" is derived from the same term as to cure and to care, which will be the role of artists working in the village, they should function as caretakers of all living creatures. The renovation process of the building will be in line with this concept, motivating young architects to shape the design of the building during short residency periods of which the first was last summer and included four non-Spanish residents. Furthermore, the Casa del curato is a space of experimentation and learning that is in tune with local ecosystems and seeks to diversify and strengthen rural economies and livelihoods while simultaneously bridging urban and rural realities.