Carlos Piles

Carlos Piles is Head of Ductal Europe, an entity of Holcim based in Paris, France.

About

Carlos Piles is Head of Ductal Europe, an entity of Holcim based in Paris, France since February 2017.

Ductal® is a high-tech construction material (Ultra-High Performance Concrete - UHPC) with the superior qualities of resistance to compression, ductility, longevity, eco-efficiency, insulation and aesthetics. The product has been used, for example, as a lattice solution on Vente-Privée Office Building, Paris; a brise-soleil solution at Dumbo Townhouses, New York; and a perforated façade and roofing solution at Jean Bouin Stadium, Paris.

Carlos Piles was a member of the Holcim Awards winning team for “CASTonCAST: Efficient fabrication system for geometrically complex building elements” which received the “Next Generation” 1st prize for Europe in 2011 and Global Innovation 3rd prize in 2012.

The project’s essential proposal was to produce modular elements of concrete and use one element, once cast, as formwork for the next element to be cast, and was protected under a UK patent. Complex three-dimensional forms are broken down into their separate components that are individually produced and stacked until they form the complete building element. Members of the project team are continuing to extend their research and bring the system to production.

Carlos Piles holds a Bachelor of Architecture (2008) from the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain; a Master of Architecture & Urbanism (2011) from the Design Research Laboratory, Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture, London, UK; and is studying an MBA at the International Institute for Management Development (IMB) Lausanne, Switzerland.

He was an architect/computational designer at Zaha Hadid Architects, London (2011-12), architect at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, London (2012-14), and a senior architect/senior computational designer at NBBJ, London (2014-15) before commencing with Holcim (2016– ) as a strategic consultant.