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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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 Mercantil building follows an eclectic style. The façade can be divided into five parts: the main entrance is located in the central, most advanced part. The name of the entity is located at the top and the year of its foundation in the centre, and a covered gallery connects both ends with the central part. The decorative elements are the sgraffito, placed on the tympanums of the two openings flanking the building, and the metallic-effect ceramic frieze. Inside, the theatre is particularly noteworthy: upon entering, we find the amphitheatre, and then the stalls surrounded on either side by galleries. The first floor has a central area with armchairs and two side areas with tiers of seats. The whole building is surrounded by a well-tended garden.
The Mercantile, Industrial and Agricultural Centre was founded in 1899 as a result of a disagreement between several members of the former Casino de Recreo, some of whom were supporters of the Godó family and others of the Boyer family. The organisation's social club was built on the site of the former Tívoli theatre, and its inauguration coincided with the town's annual festival in 1899. The Mercantile Circle celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1949. It contains a theatre, a café-lounge and a ballroom.
It was built according to a design by architect Francisco de B. Galtés, with the construction supervised by Francesc Sellés, decoration by Frederic Brunet and painting by Bartomeu Camps and Antoni Tomàs.