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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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.
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.
Independent building made up of three terraced single-family houses, with ground floor, first floor, attic and basement converted into a garden at the back. Located in the residential area of Colònia Güell, it is the first building you see when you enter it. Work built around 1894, which, both due to the shape of its floor plan and the singularity of the façades and their symmetry, gives the building great originality. Although it does not have the typical appearance of a country house, it is noticeable how in one way or another the architect wanted to collect the most significant features of manor houses. For example, the building has a basilica floor plan and a gable roof, and the facing is made of stone conglomerate of various sizes bound with lime mortar, on which several structures are built. The marked historicist character of the building, beyond the appearance of a manor house at the front, is also reflected at the back with a construction on different levels and bodies. Undoubtedly, however, what stands out most about the building are the rounded corners, and the decorative elements, the filigree work with exposed brick is particularly relevant. This is visible in the windows, the three chimneys, the porch, the cistern or the eaves under the deck.
The house was originally inhabited by the Ros de l'Ordal family, hence its name, and they are still the owners. However, other families such as the Cruañas, Gaudó, Montanès and Carrión have also lived there. All of them were farmers who worked the owner's land as tenants. Some members of these families also worked in the factory. In the interest of moving away from the existing social conflicts in the city, a new type of industry was proposed in the 19th century - the industrial colonies, i.e. the houses of the workers and equipment next to the factory, all in the same property, integrating its own nucleus with a social and economic life protected by the company. The Güell colony was an industrial colony dedicated to the manufacture of bread and velvet. Its construction began in 1890, and the project had an inn, school, shops, theatre, cooperative, doctor's house, pharmacy and chapel, in addition to factories and workers' homes, in a total area of about 160 hectares. Güell, in his capacity as a patron of culture, commissioned projects from several leading architects, such as Antoni Gaudí, Francesc Berenguer i Mestres or Joan Rubió.
There used to be a well inside, but due to subsequent renovations to the building and new uses in the space, it has been modified.
Housing building worked with absolute symmetry, with the originality of having a basement floor converted into a garden at the front – this, as far as the main body is concerned. It has an addition from the same period, but subsequent to the initial project, on its right side. It is all worked with stone conglomerate, with rounded corners, and boasts a profusion of windows accented with exposed brick and a porch to the garden. The façade has a strong historicist reminiscence, with its basilica-style country house structure with a gable roof. The back part, on the other hand, is built with different levels and bodies, with a certain Romanesque church style. The elaborate and original fireplaces that flank the house in groups of three is worth noting.
Set La Colonia Güell