Ricardo Bofill Leví - Arquitectura Catalana .Cat

Memory

Ricardo Bofill va néixer el 1939 a Barcelona, es va graduar en Arquitectura a l’Escola de Barcelona i a l’Escola de Ginebra.

El 1963 va reunir un selecte grup de joves amb talent per formar un equip multidisciplinari que va permetre abordar la complexitat de la pràctica arquitectònica; enginyers, urbanistes, sociòlegs, escriptors, directors de cinema i filòsofs que van conformar el que avui es coneix com el Taller de Arquitectura.

En l’obra de Bofill, la Historia ha estat un manifest constant, no únicament en el continu anàlisi i interpretació de la cultura i de l’arquitectura del passat, sinó pel seu interès per les noves tendències, per la seva implicació en els moviments socials del seu temps i la proposta de respostes alternatives als problemes contemporanis. L’evolució del Taller de Arquitectura, impregnada de l’estímul i la concepció vital, de la enorme vitalitat de Ricardo Bofill, ha experimentat una sèrie de canvis teòrics i pràctics estretament vinculats a les transformacions polítiques i socials de les últimes dècades del segle XX.

En els seus primers anys, Bofill va recuperar els elements artesanals característics de l’arquitectura catalana tradicional. Més tard, va començar a abordar els problemes de planificació urbana a nivell local dins del context polític i social espanyol. La necessitat d’enfrontar-se a projectes de major envergadura, va conduir a l’equip de Bofill a concebre una metodologia basada en la formació geomètrica dels elements en l’espai, desenvolupada de manera teòrica en el projecte “La Ciutat en l’ Espai” i aplicada amb la construcció de “Walden 7”.

Interessat pels problemes urbans dels països en via de desenvolupament, Bofill va traslladar part del seu equip a Algèria, on va col·laborar amb el govern en projectes de planificació urbana i vivenda social. El seu treball va culminar dos anys més tard amb la construcció del Poble Agrícola Houari Boumédienne al sud-est del país.

Com resposta al encàrrec de varius projectes per a les “Noves Ciutats” franceses, el 1971 va formar un equip complementari a Paris. Durant aquesta etapa, Bofill va introduir en les seves propostes arquitectòniques elements simbòlics directament relacionats amb l’arquitectura monumental gala. La “Petite Cathédrale” i la “Maison d’Abraxas” son exemples d’aquests monuments habitats.

A partir de 1979, les activitats del Taller de Arquitectura es van concentrar principalment a França, amb la construcció simultània de quatre projectes: “Les Arcades du Lac” i “Le Viaduc”a Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, “Les Espaces d’Abraxas” a Marne-la-Vallée; “Les Echelles du Baroque” al districte XIV de Paris; així com Antigone a Montpellier.

Els estudis de Bofill sobre la utilització d’unitats de formigó prefabricat van contribuir durant els anys 80 a la afirmació de la validesa de les formes clàssiques i la geometria en la arquitectura contemporània. La introducció del vidre i del alumini en els 90, va suposar el resultat d’un procés marcat pel estudi i la investigació de les formes i els materials.

L’any 2000, Bofill va agrupar la seva activitat a Espanya, des de la seva seu instal·lada en una antiga fàbrica de ciment a les afores de Barcelona, el Taller de Arquitectura liderat per Bofill manté l’esperit i la filosofia que van motivar al seu equip a principis dels 60 per realitzar projectes internacionals des de l’escala urbana, contribuint així a un nou “urbanisme integrat”. Projectes com la “Place de l’Europe” a Luxemburg, la “Prolongació de la Castellana” a Madrid, la “Central Artery” a Bòston, infraestructures del transport com la Terminal 1 de l’aeroport de Barcelona, equipaments culturals, esportius i comercials a Europa, Estats Units i Asia; edificis de vivendes socials i deluxe, des de Dakar a Estocolm, des de Pekín a Paris; edificis d’oficines i seus d’importants companyes als Estats Units, França, Espanya…

La reputació internacional de Ricardo Bofill resideix en la seva capacitat de dissenyar i construir amb èxit en un gran nombre de països i contexts diversos. Les seves obres confirmen la seva capacitat de dissenyar en harmonia amb les diferents cultures locals com resultat de combinar el seu know-how i la seva experiència global.

Author: RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

Works (18)

On the Map

Awarded

Cataloged

Disappeared

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Constellation

Chronology (22)

El Sargazo Apartments

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

The complex, located in a pine forest near Castelldefels beach, consists of 33 summer apartments grouped in several buildings and a tower that houses a water tank and other facilities. These are compact volumes, with rationalist windows, plastered and painted in different ranges of red.
Johann Sebastian Bach 28 Apartment Building

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Emili Bofill i Benessat, Ricardo Bofill Leví

The plot’s peculiar conditions lead to a distributive solution that leaves aside the typological repertoire of urban environment housing. The only façade to the street faces north. On the south side, the connection space with the inner courtyard is very small and is located in a corner. Bofill chooses to place the living rooms on the side of the street and direct the bedrooms towards the inner courtyard, creating one of its own which guarantees good lighting and ventilation in the back of the apartments. The two bedroom wings open in a staggered direction, and the master bedroom is at the end, in the best position. In the remaining spaces between both bodies are the kitchens, with an opening to the courtyard, and the bathrooms, at the partitions. The façade facing the street combines some ceramic lattice locks with wooden shutters, which close the living rooms asymmetrically.
FAD Award

Shortlisted. Category: Architecture

Johann Sebastian Bach 28 Apartment Building
FAD Award

Award-Winner / Winner. Category: Architecture

Nicaragua Dwellings
Nicaragua Dwellings

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Emili Bofill i Benessat, Ricardo Bofill Leví

This is a controlled rent housing program on a north-facing corner plot. The distribution frees up a large courtyard at the back, which allows for lighting and ventilation of the bedrooms in the side homes. The central house faces the street, although it offers almost blind walls on the corner and opens to the east and west. The building offers an image of brick screens that open in a fan towards the two favourable orientations, from where the view is more transparent. A unique housing developed on three levels gives rise to the declining volumes of the roof.
Johann Sebastian Bach - Francesc Pérez-Cabrero Dwellings

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Emili Bofill i Benessat, Ricardo Bofill Leví

The building meets a program of 12 rent-free homes and 21 controlled rent homes, plus a secluded penthouse understood as a unique piece. Bofill refers to the traditional construction with a brick factory to fit the circular perimeter of the square and provide it with a defining character. Both hierarchies of houses are reflected on the façade and, in the manner of the local modernist tradition, small-scale elements (drainage pipes, gargoyles, chimney pipes, railings) are used to give expressiveness to the building, understood as a delicate work of brick factory and iron elements that adopt a sculptural quality.
FAD Award

Shortlisted. Category: Architecture

Johann Sebastian Bach - Francesc Pérez-Cabrero Dwellings
Lafi Phyto-Chemical Laboratories

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

Designed for the manufacture of phytochemicals, this building is the perfect example of RBTA regionalist period, with large cubic volumes suspended in the void and special attention given to the design details. The building is of exposed traditional red brick, with large glazed window openings. Conceived as a single building, it reveals itself as three pavilions which have been adapted to the undulating site. The different species of plants along the façade and the domestic appearance of the building facilitated its integration into what was a rural setting at the time, and it has been taken to be a private villa for decades. The progressive degradation of the area as a result of indiscriminate industrial development has left the laboratories looking today like a lush green garden amid a sea of eyesores.
Club Esportiu Mas Pei

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

Sited on a cliff, this sports club that includes a swimming pool, tennis courts and a restaurant, offers dramatic views over the Catalan Costa Brava. Perfectly integrated in its natural environment, the building’s roof garden has been planted with native vegetation around the swimming pool. Another example of RBTA’s Critical Regionalism period, the design widely incorporates the use of exposed red brick and tiles that resonates with the local culture.
Gaudí Neighbourhood

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

El projecte respon a un encàrrec de l’Administració per fer un conjunt d’habitatges socials en un indret perifèric de Reus. Bofill opta per fer una lectura positiva de la vida col·lectiva de la petita localitat industrial, i reprodueix al nou barri l’amalgama de locals comercials, supermercats, bars, equipaments de lleure i els mateixos habitatges. El barri està format per torres de vuit plantes, resultat de la combinació d’un nombre limitat de tipus d’habitatges, que incorporen dos, tres i quatre dormitoris. De l’acoblament dels diferents tipus en surt una varietat de plantes sempre orientades als quatre vents, que poden juxtaposar dues torres en un mateix bloc i que poden variar en alçària d’una planta a l’altra. Totes les torres queden unides per quatre nivells de passeres que permeten circular horitzontalment sense necessitat de baixar al carrer. L’èxit de l’operació va portar a projectar-ne una segona i una tercera fase.
El Castell de Kafka Residential Building

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

The approach to the project is born from the influence that the Archigram group exercised in the sixties on some members of the Taller de Arquitectura. It was a matter of clearly separating the order of the circulations from the order of the houses, and of conceiving some vertically growing cubes that could be connected to the network of circulations without their own structural servitudes. The stairwells are made of load-bearing brick walls, which extend to support half of each unit, while the other half rests on a metal pillar located in one corner. Each cube contains an environment – living room-dining room or bathroom-bedroom - separated by a difference in level. The law of vertical growth follows the guidelines of a mathematical equation. It was about adapting architecture to unconventional forms of leisure, linked to a dramatic conception of existence which was very typical of that decade.
Bofill House

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

Bofill construeix la casa d’estiueig dels seus pares al voltant d’una antiga masia en runes, i reparteix les diferents parts del programa en pavellons independents. Un gran basament es relaciona amb el terreny exterior per mitjà d’escalinates i conté la piscina, que actua com a centre de tot el conjunt. El pavelló principal, en forma de L, conté la sala d’estar, la sala de música i el dormitori principal a la planta baixa, i la biblioteca, la sala de jocs i una segona sala d’estar a la primera planta, que queda connectada amb la piscina a través d’una escalinata. Un segon pavelló a tocar de la piscina conté el menjador, entès com a centre de reunió de tota la casa. Els mòduls restants, de 3 x 6 x 6 metres, contenen els dormitoris dels fills i queden encavallats al basament. A la plataforma central es genera un paisatge d’escalinates i xiprers que alliberen la vida a la casa de qualsevol forma de relació funcional.
Walden 7

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

With a lower budget than that usually used for social housing, and with atypical financing instruments, Ricard Bofill and Taller de Arquitectura manage to carry out a set of homes that start from the criticism of the existing city and propose architectural and existential alternatives. These are 18 towers that curve as they rise until they touch the neighbouring towers, leaving in the centre large, interconnected voids that encourage the relationship between the different homes. The set shows on the outside facings covered with red ceramic and with very small openings. The inner courtyards, on the other hand, are treated with very bright colours. The types of housing try numerous combinations starting from a square module, which can be doubled or form groups of four, establishing new possibilities of interrelation between the inhabitants of each unit.
Taller de Arquitectura

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

In 1973 Ricardo Bofill discovered a disused concrete factory on the outskirts of Barcelona, an industrial complex from the beginning of the 20th century. "In front of me - he says - there were 30 immense silos, a very tall chimney, four kilometers of underground, gigantic machinery rooms. During my first visit to the old cement factory, I suddenly thought that something horrible could become something very beautiful, just as idiocy can sometimes be transformed into genius. The concrete factory corresponds to the first period of the industrialisation of Barcelona and was not built according to a previous general plan but by juxtaposing different elements. The result was then a series of volumes added to each other and different manufacturing chains that recall vernacular architecture but with an industrial aspect. I kept going deeper and little by little I realised that the different aesthetics developed since the last World War were present in the factory: the hard and sculptural treatment of matter, with broken volumes, stairs that go nowhere, powerful spaces already useless and strange proportions yet full of magic. I decided to keep that factory with the intention of transforming the roughness into a work of art and set up my Architecture Workshop there which, in the long term, could be used as a foundation for research on the shape and design of the city. This transformation has been carried out gradually and even now I continue to add new workspaces by adapting the old ruins still standing. However, I believe that the factory will always be a work in progress, which is part of its fascination". After deconstructing the existing volumes, there were eight silos that Ricardo Bofill adapted to accommodate the offices, model laboratory, archives, library and a space, the largest of all, which preserves the skin and breadth of the old building and is named "La Catedral". This has the function of an exhibition hall for the projects, multimedia projections, meeting with clients and visitors and social and cultural gatherings linked to the professional activity of the architect. The Architecture Workshop is surrounded by large green spaces planted with olive, cypress, palm and eucalyptus trees.
El Prat Airport Terminal 2

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

Barcelona airport was the subject of a major remodelling to go from six million passengers a year to approximately twelve million, also doubling the aircraft parking capacity. The project included the installation of twelve telescopic gangways for direct boarding of aircrafts. The solution adopted takes into account the configuration of the airfield and specifically of the platform, narrow and elongated, which had to be extended. The terminal building was designed in line, taking advantage of a large part of the existing structure, with four modular piers in the shape of a triangle that minimally penetrate the platform allowing better use of it. This linear solution, determined also by the situation of the Cargo Terminal and the technical building, is reinforced with an element that emphasises this linearity: an elevated pedestrian street that groups the modular elements, serves as a separation between the ground sides and air and allows easy separation between national and international passage. The international passage will use a building relatively separate from the rest of the facilities. One of the triangular modules is intended especially for the air bridge with Madrid. The airport's modular design allowed it to be remodelled in phases, as it could not interrupt its operation at any time. A new façade was created, which represents a fully glazed image of the boarding modules and the elevated street. Waiting passengers can enjoy the spectacle of the planes taking off and landing from a privileged position. The triangular modules have another waiting room on the ground floor, intended for those passengers who must board, via the bus, aircraft located in remote positions. The elevated street, backbone of the airport, is an element of communication between the entire establishment. While access from the street to the planes can be done in a minimal route, the elevated street, inspired by the Rambles in Barcelona, allows waiting passengers to stroll and enjoy the different atmospheres of the same in its different sections. The passenger has access to the terminal buildings at ground level, with a direct connection to the car park and circulation roads protected by large roofs. Check-in and baggage collection takes place on the ground floor and the connection between floors is made by stairs, escalators and lifts. The rapid evolution of air technology will soon cause new remodelling in all the airports of the world, although this should not minimise the study of their architectural design, an important factor for the comfort of passengers and the image of the city.
National Physical Education Institute of Catalonia

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

Teacher training school. The gymnasiums are housed in two cloisters joined by a central hall. A staircase connects the south façade of the building with the outdoor courts. The building has 17 classrooms, weight room, wrestling room, 2 sports courts, changing rooms, sauna, offices, library and conference room.
Vila Olímpica Dwellings

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

This project of 113 multi-family homes is designed according to the general criteria which is common to all projects of this nature built in the Olympic Village: a perimeter building defining the shape of the streets and a more open interior with more autonomous elements, and according to the recommended uses: shops on the ground floor, housing on all floors and a car park in the first basement. The perimeter of the building is made up of two blocks which are in a parallel position regarding Wad-Ras and Pamplona Streets, at the intersection of which stands a square tower and a pedestrian crossing that surrounds it. The south façade of the houses has been set back in order to open the views to the south-east and south-west through a garden space. The main type of housing incorporates the communications core into its geometric centre, which is flanked by the service areas, clearly separating the night area, which faces north, and the day area, which faces south. The north façade is covered with ceramic brick with light concrete additions, while the south façade combines glass surfaces with other opaque concrete ones.
FAD Award

Finalist. Category: Buildings of new plant for public use

El Prat Airport Terminal 2
National Theatre of Catalonia

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

The National Theatre of Catalonia is conceived as a temple, a cultural symbol of Barcelona. The main volume of the building houses, under a single gable metal roof of 56 metres of light supported by two colonnades, a large entrance hall and the large performance hall: the heart of the theatre. On the main façade, the transparency allows a view of the hall from the outside and is presided over by a staircase, suitable for outdoor performances, in front of the new Les Arts Square. Programme: classic theatre with 900 seats, experimental theatre with 400 seats, open-air theatre, sets workshop, dressing rooms, offices, bar and restaurant.
El Prat Airport Terminal 1

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

The aim of the new terminal is to be Barcelona's communication gateway with the European environment, boost connection traffic and improve accessibility to the airport by the different modes of transport (high-speed train, commuter rail and the future extension of the underground’s line 9). It will have an area of approximately 300,000 m2 and will be able to absorb a traffic of 25 million passengers, that is, the double of all the current terminals combined. The building consists of two main blocks under a single roof: a block up to 500 metres wide, where check-in, security and baggage claim processes are carried out, and which connects passengers with the different modes of transport, and another 700 metres long in which the boarding, waiting and commercial equipment areas are located. The architecture of the building combines an international and multicultural character with the luminosity and ambient warmth of Mediterranean architecture. Its transparency favours the natural lighting of all areas intended for passengers, allowing a wide view of the tracks, with the vegetation and the sea as a backdrop. Converging in the design an arrangement of maximum functionality, the incorporation of modern technologies, respect for the environment and a representative and unique architecture, the new terminal building of Barcelona Airport will be one of the benchmarks for future passenger airport terminals of the European environment.
W Hotel

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

The 5-star W Barcelona Hotel, with an area of 42,818 m2, a height of 90 metres, 485 rooms and 67 suites, is located in the port of Barcelona, on the seafront. The hotel has a panoramic bar located on the roof, two restaurants, a terrace with bar and swimming pool, two conference rooms and various other facilities. The building, embedded in the volume of the atrium, enjoys great views over the sea and has natural light.
Nexus II

RBTA - Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill Leví

The Nexus II building, located on the North Campus of the UPC in Barcelona and intended for cooperation and technological transfer between university and companies, is governed by the special development plan of the North Campus of Pedralbes and its occasional modification. The building, with four floors above ground of 6,000 m2 and a parking floor of 1,800 m2, has a horizontal composition and does not exhaust the permitted regulatory height. The square plan, designed for a very flexible use of the interiors, is divided into four spaces of 18m x 18m with autonomy of operation at all levels. Two large spoilers that protect from the sun highlight the horizontal effect of the composition. The façades, with a double skin of transparent glass, allow the user to be acoustically and thermally isolated from the outside, without taking away the light and the view. The Nexus II, located perpendicular to the axis that crosses the Campus from south to north, is installed on a landscaped platform next to the Girona Tower gardens, thus allowing access to the car park without ramps. The building is crossed from the first floor by a staircase that allows a fluid circulation between each floor, and, transversally, by two light gaps that guarantee optimal natural lighting of the interior spaces. The structure of the building is made of concrete and in general noble materials have been used such as clear glass on the façades, lacquered steel on the ceilings, white mats on the windows and marble on the floors. The offices are carpeted. A technical floor houses all the facilities necessary for the proper functioning of the building (air conditioning, electricity, IT, etc.).