Warm Essence

On designing spaces, objects and atmospheres that resonate quietly.


In a world saturated with images and overstimulation, we return to the core:
material, proportion, silence, time.
We believe that true beauty lies not in what stands out, but in what endures.

Warm Essence is not a style — it is an approach.
A way of creating that values how something feels over how it performs in a photograph.
It’s the nuance in a brushed surface.
The peace in a well-proportioned void.
The calm presence of natural materials that age with dignity.

We work at the intersection of function and atmosphere, designing not just objects or spaces, but frames for daily rituals — quiet structures that support life rather than distract from it.

The spaces we design are not meant to impress. They are meant to hold you.
To feel just right in the body, in the light, in the flow of the day.
They speak softly, but they speak of care, attention and intention.

We are drawn to matter that remembers where it comes from:
untreated wood, mineral surfaces, uncoated metals, natural pigments.
These materials breathe. They warm up. They settle. They belong.
They connect us to the ground we walk on and the time we inhabit.

In every gesture, we choose the essential over the excessive,
the timeless over the trendy,
the emotional over the decorative.

Because when a space is reduced to what truly matters,
what remains is a quiet kind of richness —
not loud, not perfect, but honest.
And deeply human.

/ Manifesto

About


With over two decades of practice, FEM is a Barcelona-based architecture and design studio founded in 2006 on a simple belief: design should be felt, not just seen.

We work across scales — from the detail of a handrail to the complexity of a public building. Our portfolio spans public architecture, private homes, interior spaces, and bespoke furniture. Each project is an opportunity to shape atmospheres with clarity, restraint, and lasting warmth.

Our multidisciplinary practice is grounded in one guiding idea: design as a quiet support system for daily life. We create spaces and objects that do not seek to impress, but to endure. That welcome rather than overwhelm. That improve with time.

Whether designing an auditorium, a home, a piece of furniture or a ceramic piece, we seek the exact balance where material, proportion, and light create a sense of calm presence.
The kind of presence that softens the body, focuses the mind, and invites a slower, more grounded experience of space.

/ The Studio

Selected Recognition


Ajac IX Award (Catalan Young Architects Association) / Award


ASCER Architecture Award 2014 / Award


CID International Awards, Las Vegas — First Prize for the Riera La Salut Redevelopment / Award


Riera La Salut Redevelopment (Sant Feliu de Llobregat) — First Prize / Competition


New Youth Facility, Santa Eulàlia de Ronçana — First Prize / Competition


Alella Sociocultural Space — First Prize / Competition


Hospitalet de l’Infant Mid-Size Facility — Second Prize / Competition


Hostalric Gastronomic Center — Second Prize / Competition


Lo Passador River Park, Deltebre — Second Prize / Competition


Extension of Felip Pedrell Auditorium, Tortosa — First Prize / Competition


Tivissa Civic Center — Second Prize / Competition


XXI Triennale di Milano 2016 / Exhibition


XXL XXS: Lecture at Castellón Architects’ Association / Conference


Guest Lecturer, Master in Ceramics, Polytechnic University of Valencia / Conference


Via Arquitectura: Featured Projects 2016 / Exhibition-Publication


Arquitectura Viva 162 / Publication


Ceramic Material Systems, Nathan King (Harvard University) / Publication


Sempering. Process and Pattern in Architectural Design (Museo delle Culture, Milan) / Publication


El País / Publication


On Diseño / Publication


Diseño y Ciudad / Publication


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