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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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 construction of the Sant Adrià Thermal Power Station by FECSA takes place amidst the industrial development of the Spanish economy - since the 1960s, the growing demand for labour in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area had led to unprecedented immigration to this area from other locations in the Spanish Peninsula. The municipality of Sant Adrià de Besòs itself experienced an increase of approximately 20,000 inhabitants in this period, going from 15,000 inhabitants in 1960 to nearly 36,000 in 1981. Consequently, the demand for electrical energy skyrocketed during these years, giving rise to projects such as the Sant Adrià Power Station itself, or the power plants located in Ascó, Serchs or Vandellós.
Initially, the project aroused great controversy in the municipality, giving rise to an opposition movement led by the president of the Association of the La Catalana neighbourhood. The main reason for this controversy was the concern about the increase in air pollution in the area, but news pieces published by some newspapers also served as a trigger, suggesting that the plant was being built without a building permit. Already during construction, in April 1973, a worker died during a confrontation between workers and law enforcement.
However, today the Three Chimneys have become a symbol of Sant Adrià. This is certified by the creation of the Platform for the Conservation of the Three Chimneys of Sant Adrià in 2007. A year later, in 2008, the citizens of the municipality approved to keep the chimneys standing, with a result of 82% in favour, by means of a referendum.