About
In this first stage, the catalogue focuses on the modern and contemporary architecture designed and built between 1832 –year of construction of the first industrial chimney in Barcelona that we establish as the beginning of modernity– until today.
The project is born to make the architecture more accessible both to professionals and to the citizens through a website that is going to be updated and extended. Contemporary works of greater general interest will be incorporated, always with a necessary historical perspective, while gradually adding works from our past, with the ambitious objective of understanding a greater documented period.
The collection feeds from multiple sources, mainly from the generosity of architectural and photographic studios, as well as the large amount of excellent historical and reference editorial projects, such as architectural guides, magazines, monographs and other publications. It also takes into consideration all the reference sources from the various branches and associated entities with the COAC and other collaborating entities related to the architectural and design fields, in its maximum spectrum.
Special mention should be made of the incorporation of vast documentation from the COAC Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.
The rigour and criteria for selection of the works has been stablished by a Documental Commission, formed by the COAC’s Culture Spokesperson, the director of the COAC Historical Archive, the directors of the COAC Digital Archive, and professionals and other external experts from all the territorial sections that look after to offer a transversal view of the current and past architectural landscape around the territory.
The determination of this project is to become the largest digital collection about Catalan architecture; a key tool of exemplar information and documentation about architecture, which turns into a local and international referent, for the way to explain and show the architectural heritage of a territory.
About us
Project by: 
Created by: 
Directors:
2019-2024 Aureli Mora i Omar OrnaqueDocumental Commission:
2019-2024 Ramon Faura Carolina B. Garcia Eduard Callís Francesc Rafat Pau Albert Antoni López Daufí Joan Falgueras Mercè Bosch Jaume Farreny Anton Pàmies Juan Manuel Zaguirre Josep Ferrando Fernando Marzá Moisés Puente Aureli Mora Omar OrnaqueCollaborators:
2019-2024 Lluis Andreu Sergi Ballester Maria Jesús Quintero Lucía M. Villodres Montse ViuExternal Collaborators:
2019-2024 Helena Cepeda Inès MartinelWith the support of:
Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de CulturaCollaborating Entities:
ArquinFADFundació Mies van der Rohe
Fundación DOCOMOMO Ibérico
Basílica de la Sagrada Família
Museu del Disseny de Barcelona
Fomento
AMB
EINA Centre Universitari de Disseny i Art de Barcelona
IEFC
Fundació Domènench Montaner.
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We kindly invite you to help us improve the dissemination of Catalan architecture through this space. Here you can propose works and provide or amend information on authors, photographers and their work, along with adding comments. The Documentary Commission will analyze all data. Please do only fill in the fields you deem necessary to add or amend the information.
The Arxiu Històric del Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya is one of the most important documentation centers in Europe, which houses the professional collections of more than 180 architects whose work is fundamental to understanding the history of Catalan architecture. By filling this form, you can request digital copies of the documents for which the Arxiu Històric del Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya manages the exploitation of the author's rights, as well as those in the public domain. Once the application has been made, the Arxiu Històric del Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya will send you an approximate budget, which varies in terms of each use and purpose.
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Chronology (19)
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Mar Bella Park
Manuel Ruisánchez i Capelastegui, Xavier Vendrell i Sala
The Poblenou district is part of the industrial expansion of Barcelona, which began at the end of the 19th century and developed around the railway line that connected Barcelona and Mataró. The land, made up of demolition material, was occupied by the freight station, the railway tracks, marginal buildings, playgrounds and various elements of the city's general infrastructure system. The action seeks the articulation on these resident spaces of a set of public spaces and sports and cultural facilities, such as the Mar Bella Pavilion, an athletics track and a nautical base that occupy the existing area between the cemetery, the original core of the neighbourhood and Mar Bella beach. The management plan for the sea front foresees two sectors, Vila Olímpica and Parc de Mar, in which the relationship between the urban façade, trunk and sides of the coastal belt, green spaces and public facilities is different. The Poblenou sports and leisure complex is the meeting point between both sectors. The transition between the neighbourhood and the beach, the continuity between the promenade of Vila Olímpica and that of Mar Bella, the typical landscape of similar areas in other places on the coast, the native vegetation and the recovery of the old extension of railways and the industrial memory of the railway and the ship. These are the themes that mark the origin of the project. The park is shaped by a sequence of dunes that is fixed by the pine forest and that extends from Mar Bella beach towards the neighbourhood. Masses of bushes appear inside the forest. Along the perimeter, riparian trees create the visual boundaries of the park. The structure of the pedestrian routes is a mesh formed by the projection of the streets of Poblenou towards the beach and by curvilinear paths that cross the park longitudinally. The old extension of railway tracks supports intensive use activities while establishing the connection between Poblenou and Vila Olímpica. -
Mar Bella Sports Complex
Manuel Ruisánchez i Capelastegui, Xavier Vendrell i Sala
The Marbella pavilion had to be an isolated building at the northern end of the Poblenou park, with which to start the series of equipment and facilities that in the future should form the sector of the city's seafront, called Parc del Mar. The venue, initially used as the venue for the Badmington competitions at the 1992 Olympics, had to have a capacity of 4,000 spectators; later it would become a sports and cultural centre, consisting of 4 sports courts, seats for 1,000 spectators, changing rooms and restrooms, both its own and the attached athletics track, library, conference room, exhibition hall and outbuildings of the Poblenou Historical Archive. The building is made up of a main volume that covers the sports hall and the public area, and a perimeter base where the cultural centre and the complementary service spaces are developed. The basement is partially buried with respect to the surrounding land, so that part of the built-up area does not become apparent, and the visible height of the building is reduced. The main volume is solved by the succession of diaphragms every 3.75 metres or frames of 50 metres of light, formed by metal beams and concrete screens, which are covered with a light inverted roof. The spaces between screens are closed with practicable glass tops at the bottom and with perforated metal plate tops on the outside, leaving a height of 2.50 metres free from the base, to prevent the direct entry of sunlight and allow different degrees of transparency. The screens penetrate the basement, creating courtyards for lighting and ventilation in the interior spaces. The main entrance to the building is located on the southwest side, next to the athletics track. The first two bays are dedicated to the public lobby, the administration area and the accesses to the different parts of the building. -
FAD Award
Finalist. Category: Architecture - Urban SpacesMar Bella Sailing ClubFAD Award
Finalist. Category: Buildings of new plant for public useMar Bella Sports ComplexFAD Award
Finalist. Category: Architecture - Urban SpacesMar Bella ParkRiumar Primary School
Manuel Ruisánchez i Capelastegui, Xavier Vendrell i Sala
Des del començament ens impressionà el lloc. Travessarem extensions de camps d'arròs sempre canviants (tot terra, aigua, espigues, cel) per arribar a un conglomerat de construccions aïllades, petits volums de material senzill, al mig d'horts i camps. Entrarem dins d'un teixit sense alineacions ni formes urbanes precises, dominat per visions fragmentades i espais intersticials, on usos i elements diversos coexistien (habitatges, granges, pèrgoles, horts, coberts, canals, edificis industrials, camins, arbres...). Vàrem decidir que l'escola havia de formar part de tot això. Començaríem per esmicolar el programa donat (que s'estructura segons nivells escolars i activitats) per sobre del lloc. El projecte està format per edificacions i pavellons d'una planta, independents entre si, que en alguns casos es connecten a través d'una pèrgola. Les peces s'estructuren a través de patis o espais intersticials i s'orienten principalment a Sud -Est i Sud. Els quatre pavellons escolars s'ordenen al voltant del pati d'accessos, alliberant entre ells espais pensats com aules exteriors. Les peces que es situen junt al carrer agafen alineacions que semblen capritxoses i que responen a la dels seus homònims a l'altre costat de la calçada. Els aularis son elements iteratius i tenen una estructura constant de formigó i lloses prefabricades. Els materials emprats en els exteriors volen aconseguir una bona durabilitat i fàcil manteniment i els colors i textures són anàlegs als que es troben al voltant. La relació entre l'aula i el pati no s'estableix a través de finestres, per això el projecte proposa un gran tancament de formigó prefabricat amb vidre laminat que permet una gran transparència, a la vegada, degut al dimensionat dels montants , crea una certa privacitat des de l'exterior. El projecte proposa un porxo al final de cada bloc d'aules pensat per les possibles ampliacions que siguin necessàries, sense que aquestes afectin a l'estructura del conjunt.FAD Award
Award-Winner / Winner. Category: Arquitectura - Edificis de Nova Planta, Obres de Reforma o Rehabilitació d'Edificis ExistentsRiumar Primary SchoolInternational Biennial of Landscape Architecture
FinalistParc de la Fontsanta (Fase 4)Block of 62 Youth Housing Units and Day Care Centre
Manuel Ruisánchez i Capelastegui
As part of the remodelling of the urban environment of Travessera de Les Corts, the construction of a new housing facility for young people, a nursery, municipal social services offices and a car park is planned. A building is planned with a continuous ground floor, which occupies almost the entire ground, where the municipal nursery and the new social services offices are located. Two volumes of 4 and 7 floors emerge from this plinth, like boxes containing cells (dwellings), which take up the difference in height of the surrounding buildings to give greater continuity to the new façade of Travessera de Les Corts. The nursery is developed on the ground floor under the 4-storey volume, organised around a double illuminated central space, which is accessed from Travessera. This central multi-purpose room gives access to all the south-facing classrooms, which have access to the courtyard located inside the block, and to the rest of the programme, such as the service and administrative rooms facing Travessera. The municipal offices, intended for social services, are developed on two independent levels, ground floor and mezzanine, which are accessed from Travessera through a common space. Above these premises, the 4-storey volume, made up of two pieces with staggered floors, includes 5 dwellings on each side of a central corridor. The 7-storey volume, with 4 dwellings per floor, is understood as a volume independent of the base, as a floating element separated from the ground floor by an open strip destined for a terrace-porch for the young dwellings, a multifunctional space that can also be accessed from an exterior ramp that connects it with the rear square. The vertical communication cores separate these two volumes of 4 and 7 floors. The functional programme of the dwelling – with a usable area of 38 m2 – consists of a single open space, kitchen, living room, bedroom (with the possibility of making it independent) and a complete bathroom. A multi-purpose space to cover the different needs of the user: study, dining, leisure, visits, day/night, etc. The distribution of the house is resolved with a diagonal that solves the minimum width required by the living room and bedroom, pieces open to the façade to ensure optimum lighting and ventilation. It has been decided to concentrate the installations on the interior side of the house, with access from the corridor and easy maintenance and control. For the constructive design, the main criteria taken into account were to guarantee comfort, offer the user maximum versatility and ensure maximum durability and minimum maintenance, so that the result is a solid home with few possibilities for intervention by the user. The structure of the building is made of reinforced concrete slabs and screens, as far as the volume of the dwellings is concerned. The ground floor and 7th floor building is a structure made up of four large pillars and a lightened concrete slab, one metre high. This frees up the ground, mezzanine and first floors, where the porch-terrace is located. On the other hand, the saving in the use of energy resources has been another fundamental guide in the design of the project. The building reaches a good level in the field of sustainable architecture, considered a necessary and growing requirement in the world of construction.Sagrada Família Library
Manuel Ruisánchez i Capelastegui
The Sagrada Família library is the result of the refurbishment of an existing unused building as part of a complex of facilities. The reorganisation of the complex's accesses, a significant modification of the building's structure and a metamorphosis of its envelope have transformed it and given a new value to the Eixample corner. A closed construction has given way to a permeable library, open to light, views and the city. The proposal was based on two main operations - ideas that remained until the building was completed. The first was to let light into the interior of the facility through a significant physical opening and by replacing its skin. The second was to change the existing system of scattered and non-hierarchical entrances for a formula that opens the building to the street, turning the main entrances into an extension of the public space. In this way, with the modification of the entrances and the way in which the new building volumetrically completes the widening block, the chamfer (which in the previous constellation functioned as a residual space) is here given a well-deserved prominence. The new use of the building, inserted in the Pla Cerdà of the Eixample district, requires open spaces and natural light. A vertical void that appeared after the elimination of the central bay gives shape to the building, dividing it into two parallel bars, introducing a space of light in the centre of the library. The veils of the façades exchange transparency between inside and outside throughout the day. The skin, as a series of filters that gives the building its variable appearance, distils the exterior light that fills the library space. The system of screens, filters, transparencies and visuals contributes to a rich and perceptively changing space.Vallparadís Park
BAMMP Arquitectes i Associats, Francesc Bacardit i Segués, Montserrat Garcia Carceller, Ferran Pont i Montaner, Manuel Ruisánchez i Capelastegui
The scope is an elongated piece of curvilinear generatrix and 78,498m2. In it, the stream widens, and its section is asymmetrical. To the east, a slope of more than 15m acts as a vegetal façade from the interior and separates the park from the Can Palet neighbourhood. To the west, a gentle topography acts as a staggered horizontal plane that connects comfortably with the 20th century neighbourhood. A pedestrian walkway crosses the park from east to west at a height of 6 metres and connects both neighbourhoods. The canalisation of the stream has increased the flat surface of the area, allowing an extensive planting of trees that captures the historical memory of the plantations and orchards of the old stream. The plantations, organised by means of regular packages of different species, are protected by walls, which act as linear banks. The park is connected to the city by means of a system of ramps and stairs at the turning points of the stream, which form "bastions" by means of gabion walls.Montjuïc Fire Station
Manuel Ruisánchez i Capelastegui
The new Montjuïc Fire Station is located on the site resulting from the confluence of Josep Carner Avenue, Passeig de Montjuïc and the mountain slope. The building is placed parallel to the avenue, recognising its importance as an axis of entry and exit to the city. With a clear horizontal vocation, highlighted by the 100m length of the concrete volume of the first floor, the body of the practice tower becomes the only vertical counterpoint, which allows to maintain the reference of the mountain of Montjuïc at all times. The articulation of the functional program is carried out by distinguishing between the parts related to the activity of the fire brigade itself, all of them located at street level, and those related to the residential aspect, located on the first floor.Fabra i Coats Creation Factory / Contemporary Art Centre
Francesc Bacardit i Segués, Manuel Ruisánchez i Capelastegui
The intervention in the Fabra & Coats production hall has been extremely respectful. More than a transformation, it is a reoccupation of the factory space. Despite the complexity of the planned programme - artistic creation factory, contemporary art centre, arts school and industrial heritage interpretation centre - the constructive and structural elements have been maintained, as well as part of the original installations. The strategy followed has operated with industrial criteria, working in favour of the factory space. Technological parts have been incorporated to accommodate the more specific uses (a connection jack, music boxes, etc.) and a flexible division of the warehouses with a system of tensioned cables and tarpaulins that allow the space to be varied according to needs. The only intervention on the façades of the building was to remove the additions and restore them, maintaining the original masonry and carpentry, recovering their original image.Premi Ciutat de Barcelona
Award-Winner / Winner. Category: Architecture and UrbanismFabra i Coats Creation Factory / Contemporary Art CentreMostres d'Arquitectura (Barcelona)
Shortlisted. Category: Edificis d’Ús No Residencial de Promoció PúblicaMontjuïc Fire StationMostres d'Arquitectura (Vallès)
ShortlistedVallparadís ParkBibliography (49)