Doctor in philology, Javier Cercas has worked as a professor of Spanish literature, first at the University of Illinois and then in the University of Girona, a career he has combined for years with his vocation as a novelist.

In 2001 he published Salamin Soldiers, which was a runaway success inside and outside of Spain, garnering glowing praise from personalities such as Mario Vargas Llosa, George Steiner, J.M. Coetzee and Susan Sontag. Since then, he has been dedicated exclusively to writing; he occupies a leading position in the Spanish narrative and intervenes strongly in the cultural and political debates in the country through his articles in the press, avidly followed by a broad swath of readers (he is a regular contributor to the newspaper El Pais).

Author of international renown, the work of Cercas is characterised by the bold exploration of the boundaries between reality and fiction (he himself has defined some of his novels as “real stories”); always with a view to scrutinise of the present day and its key themes.

Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta have been architects since 1987 and in 1988 they founded RCR ARQUITECTES in their hometown, Olot. They are winner National Prize of Culture in Architecture from the Generalitat de Catalunya 2005, Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française 2008, honorary members of the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) 2010, honorary members of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 2012 and Gold Medalists from l’Académie d’Architecture Française 2015.

From 1989 they have held an advisory role as architects at the Natural Park of the Volcanic Area of La Garrotxa and they have been teaching Urbanism and Landscape Architecture (1989- 2001, Vilalta) and Architectural Projects (1992-2004, Pigem), having written several essays about architecture and landscape.

They have won various international competitions, including El Estudio and Mas Miró in Mont-Roig del Camp, the Park of the Camino Condal in Barcelona, the Media Library of Waalsekrook in Belgium, the Soulages Museum in France, the Crematorium of Hofheide in Belgium and The Edge Bussiness Bay in Dubai. They have also been awarded distinctions for some of their works, including the International Spanish Architecture Award 2015 for the Soulages Museum, the International Award of the Belgian Building Awards 2011, nine FAD Awards (Foment de les Arts Decoratives) and three shortlisted works at the Mies Van der Rohe European Union Architecture Awards.