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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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.
Detached house and garden area.
The main façade, in a purely Catalan Art Nouveau style, stands out with remarkable elements: a large doorway and six windows on the ground floor and a balcony with wrought iron and four shutters on the upper part. These windows and the windows on the ground floor are finished at the top in a staggered manner.
On the left side façade, and following the pattern of the main façade, there is a tribune. The barbican is made of tiles and wooden corbels.
The construction of this house is parallel to that of Gaudí-Safores, built by the architect himself. The Ripoll house can be seen as part of the Catalan Art Nouveau style which, despite its simplicity, is one of the most important exponents of Centelles.
This building is adapted to the Noucentista canons most characteristic of Centelles. It is a clear example of the home or residence of an industrial bourgeois family, which stands out above all for the elements that make up the façades and the wrought ironwork that was carried out in the Casals workshop in Centelles.
Specifically, this building has a ground floor and a first floor between partitions with a garden. The gable roof is covered with Arab tiles. The main façade is of a purely Catalan Art Nouveau style with remarkable elements, a large doorway and six windows on the ground floor, a wrought-iron balcony and four shutters at the top. These windows and the ground-floor windows are finished at the top in a staggered form. The façade has a fairly regular layout.
On the left side façade, following the pattern of the main façade, there is a tribune. The barbican is made of tiles and wooden modillions.
This building was built by Manuel Raspall between 1915 and 1920, taking advantage of the expansion of the town of Centelles thanks to the arrival of the railway and industrialisation. The architect built this house between 1015 and 1920 on the outskirts of the town centre, attached to a well-known factory in the industrial area.
The construction of this house runs parallel to that of Gaudí-Safores and was carried out by the architect himself. But although the former was renovated, the Ripoll house can be framed in a single style, in this case Catalan Art Nouveau, which despite its simplicity is one of the most important exponents of this style in Centelles.
As an annexe to the house, there is a large garden located on a flat area that gives the house an even more stately touch. Although the house dates from the 19th century, the major renovation that can be seen today dates from the beginning of the 20th century. The garden has protection grade 1 in the Heritage Protection Catalogue of Centelles.