Josep Lluis Mateo is one of Spain's leading architects and one of Europe's most influential intellectuals. He runs a firm called mateoarquitectura in Barcelona, which has designed buildings in many countries such as Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Alongside his work as guest lecturer, Mateo was Professor of Design at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich from 2002 to 2014.

Mateo's standing as a pacesetter in the international intellectual discourse about the future of architecture is closely tied to the journal Quaderns d'Arquitectura i Urbanisme, which has appeared in Catalan, Spanish and English since 1985 and of which he was editor-in-chief between 2002 and 2014. Under Matteo, it developed into the leading platform for discussions on architectural issues, urban design, and aesthetic concepts.

Footprints: Writings 2005-2020 collects his most important texts from the last fifteen years - short and longer essays and vignettes, along with interviews touching on questions about the elements, environmental and urban contexts, as well as on Matteo's own designs. The texts are illustrated and arranged thematically, to allow the juxtaposition to inspire new connections.