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External
Reference
Projects

We transform ideas into spatial experiences.

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Our architecture thrives by redefining the discipline’s boundaries

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Barcelona and Dubai, two perspectives towards innovation in design

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Designing multidisciplinary spaces that transform presence into experience

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If the tools that we need don’t exist, we build them

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Last news

Carmelo Zappulla talks to AD about ethics, aesthetics, and technology in architecture
27 July 2026

Carmelo Zappulla talks to AD about ethics, aesthetics, and technology in architecture

In an interview with AD Spain, Carmelo Zappulla, founder of External Reference, reflects on how to reconcile spectacle and environmental responsibility in contemporary architecture. For Zappulla, technology should not distance a project from nature but serve as a way back to it, a principle the studio applies both to materials and to the full experience of a space. This outlook is backed by an in-house research department that develops tools linked to artificial intelligence and spatial analysis, with particular attention to neuroarchitecture as a science applied to perception.

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Onada Terrace Suites wins Gold at London Design Awards
27 July 2026

Onada Terrace Suites wins Gold at London Design Awards

Onada Terrace Suites, designed by External Reference at W Barcelona, bring together a defined material and spatial language across the terrace areas, developed as a standalone design commission within the hotel rather than an extension of the wider renovation scope.

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External Reference | VAS wins Bronze at Delta Awards
27 July 2026

External Reference | VAS wins Bronze at Delta Awards

VAS is a pair of independent vessels designed by Carmelo Zappulla for External Reference, conceived as a study in contrast rather than as a single unified object. Each piece pairs two opposing textures, materials and processes, and the two vessels are shown side by side rather than nested, stacked or joined, so the tension between them stays visible instead of being resolved into one form. The result is less an object than a dialogue between two ways of making.

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Artichoke Agave
10 July 2026

Artichoke Agave

For succulent plant lovers the Artichoke Agave is the best choice. This 3D printed plant is inspired in the herbaceous evergreen perennial succulent which genus name comes from the Greek word ‘agauos’ meaning ‘’admirable’’, and references to the plant’s very impressive spikes of flowers. The structurally beautiful Artichoke Agave has very good looking leaves and is especially appreciated for its geometrical shape and design.

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