At a very young age, craftsman and architect Fernando Abellanas had his hands behind a sketchpad. His father encouraged him to work on anything and everything. Abellanas would create elaborate drawings of machines, designed different objects and even would be encouraged by his father to repair the furniture around the house. Albellanas’ current job is that of a plumber. This work lets him earn enough money, but also gives him the flexibility to create new things. For him, separating work from leisure is not difficult because he loves what he does.
Now, Abellanas has created his own space in a very unlikely place – in the underpass of a major bridge in Spain. The desire for personal space in a busy city is no easy feat. Creating a unique space for yourself can be difficult when rent and property prices are in hot demand. Abellanas is a creator and designer. He manufactures anything from chairs to shelving, to bike racks. He lives in Valencia, Spain where he creates his work. He is inspired by the designs of the 60s and 70s.
The structure itself was based on a basic pulley system, rigged almost like an inverted roller coaster, where the bridge’s structure naturally provides the track. Inside the space, Abellanas has provided himself with a table, a chair, several shelves with personal items like pictures, a cactus, and a photo of his dog. He also has a sketch pad and a few pens to work on his creating.
The cherry on the sundae, however, is the fact that he can use this space to sleep as well. Abellanas claims that his design process is very basic. He draws until he obtains an idea, and he solves his design problems in the workshop. When he finishes the design, he builds additional tooling to help him recreate the finished product on a more industrial scale that he uses to sell to others. Abellanas hopes to create beautiful things and inspire others around him with his work.
