Meet Sofia Simioni | Architect & Interior Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sofia Simioni and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sofia, why did you pursue a creative career?
Because I don’t conceive life any other way. Creativity is a tool that all people should develop in any area of ​​their life. It is a resource through which one evolves and explores oneself as a person and acquires certain resources and knowledge of life. Personally, I am a highly sensitive person who since I was little had a restless mind, an imagination without borders and a lot of curiosity to learn and express myself through art. I was always very moved by my intuition and my desire to become an artist. I began my career in architecture without knowing that it was what I was born to do, it was simply the place where I could explore my full potential. Motivated by a dream of living in Barcelona, ​​I left my home in Rosario, Argentina 8 years ago and moved to the city with the most art and modern architecture, where I practice my profession as an architect and interior designer and I can deliver a little bit of art in each project, in each piece of art that becomes a little bit mine and a little bit the client’s.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Arriving in Barcelona as an architect and being able to work in my profession was a challenge for me. There are probably many more architects and designers in this city than in other parts of the world so it was difficult to start and make my way on this path. Before moving to another country, I opened my first small business with my sister Connie, it was called “Para vos todo el amor del mundo” (“For you, with all the love in the world.” )We designed travel diaries, notebooks and diaries and very quickly we became known in the city and the venture took off and began to bear fruit. Thanks to that we were able to come to Barcelona together and continue sharing our art on this side of the pond. I have worked as an architect in several architecture offices in several countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Norway and Spain and I had the opportunity to nourish myself and learn a lot working with great professionals. Each person I met in this beautiful career has taught me both about architecture and about life and they are my basis to be able to run my own architecture and interior design studio today. It took time, it took a lot of effort and patience, but one day 2 years ago I opened my office called Estudio 08013, in the heart of Barcelona, ​​in the Sagrada Familia neighborhood. This studio is a kind of atelier for me where I enjoy designing the house where my client is going to live and accompanying them closely throughout the process, making them part of the history of the house from the very first drawing I make. Each house has its own soul, each space tells its story and I am simply a channel to allow that to be expressed and shine. Our home should always be the reflection of our soul, the way we perceive life and connect with people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First things first. My house is in front of the Sagrada Familia, the most iconic monument in the city of Barcelona with Catalan modernist architecture shining in all its splendor, so the first stop of the day will be to visit the basilica. Then we will start walking along Avenida Marina until we reach the sea where we will stop for breakfast at the new Olympic Port where we will take my boat out and take a tour of the city from the water and enjoy seeing the Barcelona skyline. We get off in Barceloneta and walk along the beach. A must stop is lunch at the Surf House in Barcelona, ​​delicious food and natural juices. We continued walking towards the Gothic quarter, getting lost in the medieval streets of old Barcelona, ​​its Cathedral of the Sea, and would share the history of the city from its beginnings until we reached Plaza Catalunya, the very center of the city. From there we can take a walk along the most famous street for its beautiful modernist buildings and expensive brand stores, it is called Paseo de Gracia. At a slightly hidden point on this large avenue there is a passage to enter the “Nacional”, an old industrial warehouse rehabilitated into a food court with great interior design of spaces and where you can eat delicious tapas or seafood, or simply take a walk. We continue by getting on the subway and heading to Plaza España. When you leave the metro, one of the most beautiful walks in Barcelona begins for me, the walk to Montjuic. I will continue my talk about modernist architecture and the Barcelona Universal Exhibition of 1929 when the entire mountain begins to be urbanized and the first monumental buildings appear and I will continue explaining everything that changed the city since the ’92 Olympic Games. At the top of the Montjuic mountain, right at the National Art Museum of Catalonia, there is a panoramic view of the city where you can see the Tibidabo mountain in front with its monastery. We tour the Olympic stadiums and the different parks full of flowers and plants of different species until we reach the Olympic Walk of Fame where there are footprints of great athletes who competed in the Olympics printed on the floor. We continue the route and arrive at Salts, a bar at the top of the stands of the Olympic diving pools in Barcelona. Here we can order some tapas, have a delicious vermouth and enjoy sitting on the stands the sunset and the entire city landscape displayed beyond the pools. The music starts, people playing jazz between the seats, the sky displaying all the colors and the clouds that look like cotton candy. At 10pm, going down the mountain back to Plaza España, we stop at the Magic Fountain to enjoy the show of music and dancing waters that bids farewell to the day and gives us a musical review of the entire history of Barcelona.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First I want to thank my family who always supports me in every moment and decision I make in my life. Thank each person who has accompanied me in recent years on a conscious path of much personal growth and evolution, my guides, my teachers. Thank you to the sea and the boat that give me so much passion and enjoyment and to this city, Barcelona, ​​that never disappoints me and welcomed me from the first day as if it were at home. And finally thank me for being faithful to myself and my intuition in every step of my life.

Instagram: @studio08013

Linkedin: Sofía Simioni

Facebook: Sofía Simioni

Other: arqsofiasimioni@gmail.com

Image Credits
Jordi Miralles Fotografía
Studio byPablo