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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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 building takes up all the Carrer Francesc Moragas, but also has an entrance from Carrer Hospital and Carrer Sant Antoni. It has three bodies, each intended for different uses - the central hall and staircase, the one on the left is a museum and library, and the one on the right is offices and housing. The building is currently used as offices.
The image of the building responds to the criteria set by the institution since the same aesthetic is found in other contemporary buildings of La Caixa. The decoration mixes classicist elements, such as the columns and pediments, and Gothic elements such as the attic windows.
At the end of 1931, La Caixa presented the request to erect a building along Carrer Vilaró, later called Francesc Moragas. The permit states that the work will be done in an easement area and that it is exempt from paying taxes thanks to the statutes of the funds. Although it does not refer to the acquisition of the land, it belonged to M. Dolors Vilaró i Raventós in 1892, when, on the occasion of a refurbishment of the house, she ceded part of it in order to widen the alley that would bear her name.
The La Caixa project was not simply limited to opening offices but also offered a library and a museum, which would not be inaugurated until the 1950s. The museum would be dedicated to honouring old age, a festival closely linked to Sant Sadurní since it originated in this municipality and later spread to other Catalan towns.