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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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.
The Francesc Cama house is located in the block of flats in the Gràcia district bounded by Carrer Gran de Gràcia, Carrer Santa Eugènia, Carrer Sant Cristòfol and Travessera de Gràcia. It has a main façade facing Carrer Gran de Gràcia from where the main entrance is located, a secondary façade facing Carrer Santa Eugènia, and an interior façade facing the courtyard of the block.
The building has a rectangular ground plan, with a structure in elevation that includes a ground floor, a main floor, three upper floors and a walkable rooftop. The main entrance leads to a vestibule area and a central rectangular courtyard where the staircase is located.
The main façade structures its openings in two double vertical axes of regular rhythm separated by a wide vertical strip above the entrance door, forming an axial composition around the main entrance.
The ground floor opens onto the street through three large stone doorways. The tall central doorway, topped by a segmental arch, gives access to the residents' staircase, while the two side doorways correspond to the ground-floor shops. These are divided into two parts by a cast-iron pilaster with a vegetal capital.
The rest of the façade is covered with a light-green mortar on which, at the height of the first floor, there is a sgraffito with a tentacular ornament containing the date of construction. The main floor has a continuous balcony topped at the ends by polygonal tiled tribunes. The polychrome floral-themed stained-glass windows at the end of the balconies are particularly striking. The rest of the balconies, aligned in pairs, have an undulating floor plan and are closed with wrought-iron railings. The openings have low balconies of coloured brittle and a sculptural frame. The crowning, which serves as a railing on the roof, maintains the division with two false stepped pediments, highlighted by a moulding.
The secondary façade, facing Carrer Santa Eugènia, has a compositional system similar to the main façade. It is also divided into four vertical axes of openings, but with fewer overhangs. The main floor has an undulating continuous balcony. The façade facing the inner courtyard has glass galleries supported by cast-iron pilasters.
The entrance hall and the central courtyard is the space that gives access to the building and distributes the various horizontal properties. It is accessed through the vestibule of the main door, a rectangular space with white marble floors and ceramic tile wainscoting, but what stands out is an elaborate false plaster ceiling. Beyond a doorway there is the central courtyard, with the lift, the wooden porter's lodge and the residents' staircase.