LOCØ is a group of emerging [next-generational] architects, designers, thinkers, and change-makers operating within the spatial frontiers of our evolving cities, based in London and Copenhagen (LOCO). LOCØ builds upon the fields of architecture, urbanism, research and development with a very holistic development process in mind. Led by Founder and Creative Director, Marco Antonio Maycotte (LON).
We come from a world-renown firm BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group, who have established a new world design benchmark. We are looking to make something of our own and bring our own vision and collaborations into being. We are as ambitious as we are creative and driven to change the shape of our world into a better future. We want to bring spaces and experiences of life, work, enjoyment, and play into a greater focus. Together, we bring a sum of high profile projects that we have had the opportunity to lead, design, and contribute to. These factors make our approach unique and our skills and experience invaluable.
Our mindset is informed by sustainable and innovative design practices that fall within the specific demands of the site, context, overall program, and future. LOCØ was awarded the global design benchmark award “Danish Design Award 2020” under Visionary Concepts for BitPark, a multi-functional public space on the water that serves as an urban aquafarm for the city. The project has gathered significant interest and was exhibited at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen.
For a time, coffee, lightbulbs, airplanes, and ski slopes on top of waste-to-energy power plants seemed like crazy ideas, but thanks to their ‘crazy’ creators, a world entirely without them seems odd. With those who push the boundaries of what is ‘normal’ into something deemed ‘crazy’ we find a liminal space where innovation thrives and progress is made. It is because of this that our own ideas of recasting the world can be seen as a bit ‘crazy’, or ‘Loco’, in our case. We don't lie on either extreme of the literal meaning of the word, but try to balance ourselves in the middle by making both passionate and enthusiastic ideas with rational and sensible, tangible (but yet creative) solutions.
We perform work on many scales and typologies with a special emphasis on identifying opportunities brought about by shifts in the urban context; such as the changing role of the inner harbours, with industry moving away, or changes to our cities and lifestyles brought about by the COVID pandemic. In pursuit of these opportunities, we seek realizable projects which draw forward progress and unearth unforeseen value for the city and its many stakeholders.
Rather than creating spaces that respond to the minimum demands of our society and environment, in other words, designing to “survive”, we are much more interested in building to “thrive”. Where our buildings not only meet the current demands of social, political, environmental, and economical issues, but also are designed in such a way they can quickly respond and adapt to whatever changing needs our future might surprise us with.
Our ideas and designs are in fact, ambitious as much as they are tangible. They encompass a wide range of urban interventions that we are passionate to bring into the complex and “untapped” spaces [or] fabric of our cities. We believe that by providing well thought-out designs, we can set a higher and well-deserved benchmark for our future; smart cities that can contribute to our health, rather than burden it, one that can relax-us on our commute, rather than stress-us, a city that can adapt and be ‘future-proofed’, and one that harnesses its culture, history, and sense of community, through inclusion.
These are some of many examples we like to call “added value”. Added value refers to the fact that buildings can be so much more than their sole programmatic purpose, but rather bring about a sum of all (or some) of the many activities, assets, and hopes for (and from) the community in which it will stand, hence increasing its initial value exponentially; kind of like the layers of a cake, the icing on top is what makes it great.
Our school of thought and ideals have been nurtured working outside of our comfort-zones and alongside the world’s most innovative minds in the industry. Being exposed to many different walks of life, culture and lifestyles has gifted us unique skill sets and perspectives we would like to introduce, and contribute to our cities’ bright future and in shaping progress. As part of a new generation of thinkers and “changemakers”, we find ourselves in an exciting moment in history, where the visions that we craft together can inspire and ultimately raise the bar of what we should, and have the right to expect for the world we want to live in.