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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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.
Large building located on the corner between Trafalgar Street, Ronda Sant Pere and Urquinaona Square. It consists of a ground floor, a mezzanine, seven floors, an attic and an upper attic with a flat roof. On the ground floor there are many openings that correspond to commercial premises, except for one in Trafalgar Street which is the access portal to the building. On the mezzanine, doors open to balconies without overhangs, following a regular rhythm. On the first floor, on each of the three façades, there is a large tribune where windows open following the same axes as those on the mezzanine. In the following five floors, in the two longest façades, the wall is divided into three vertical spaces and in the central one the wall moves forward creating a large tribune. In the narrowest façade, that of Urquinaona Square, the façade is also divided into three but, in this case, it is the two lateral ones that move forward, creating triangular tribunes. On all three façades there are balconies built on the second, third and fourth floors. In the seventh level the wall is smooth and uses the upper part of the tribunes as balconies. The attic wall combines sections on the same plane as the rest of the façade with other setbacks where terraces open up. The attic is set back and is not visible from the street.
The facing of the ground floor is covered with stone while the rest of the façade is plastered and painted cream. In the stands, the plastering draws horizontal lines that help emphasise the plasticity that these volumes give to the building. The railings of the balconies are tubular.
This building was commissioned by promoter Joaquim Masana. Being located on one of the main commercial arteries, the architect prioritised the commercial premises on the ground floor and left the entrance for neighbours on the Trafalgar Street façade.