During the 1930s, Barcelona was carrying out a process of internationalisation of Catalan culture and Passeig de Gràcia was becoming the most elegant and prestigious promenade of the moment. Rogeli Roca, who was a jeweler very interested in contemporary design and avant-garde movements, decided to move the family jewelry store that was located on Les Rambles, in front of the Liceu Theatre, and take it to the corner of Passeig de Gràcia with Gran Via. He was a friend of Sert's and entrusted him with the project.
This is a good example of how to intervene courageously in an existing building, although current regulations would not allow such an action to be proposed due to the protection of the Eixample. Sert's proposal is radical and consistent with the possibilities offered by the metallic structure of the building, which remained hidden under the neoclassical façades of the Eixample. The new façade is completely freed from the restrictions of the load-bearing walls and is conceived as a light enclosure. A translucent skin, executed with polished and reflective materials, which radically contrasts with the matt texture and opacity of the render.
This façade caused much controversy in the society of the moment.
Establishment located in the building facing 18 Passeig de Gràcia on the corner of 611 Gran Via. Along the entire length and height of the premises’ façade there is a structure that reflects the wall of the building, made of laminated profiles of steel and a new attached enclosure on the outside with the following elements: a small canopy, a perimeter frame clad in granite, an upper strip of black pavers, a lower strip clad in pink granite with casement windows and a side door of the left. In total, there are four openings: two on the promenade, one on the edge of the chamfer and one on the chamfer with the Gran Via. The aim of using a compositional element such as the Belgian glass pavers was to achieve a very bright interior space. The façade is the work of Josep Lluís Sert and is the only commercial establishment built according to rationalist parameters.
As for the interior, it still preserves the configuration of the space and the decoration project of 1933. The linoleum flooring, the carpets, the wood paneling of the chamfered wall, the showcase of the façade and of the side walls, the counter of the interior corridor in stained wood and smoked glass or the chairs in lacquered wood and upholstery are some of the elements that have been preserved.
The rarity of Roca jewelery lies in two aspects. On the one hand, it is the only commercial interior that has been preserved from the early Modern Movement in Catalonia. On the other hand, this work shows the beginning of the transformation of the central Eixample for its commercial uses. With this work, Sert was the first to carry out a complete flashing on the wall of a bearing façade to offer the street an aesthetic that was adapted to modern commercial standards. Roca jewelery was a pioneer in the commercial use of ground floors in new constructions and modifications to existing buildings.
The establishment was inaugurated in 1933. In 1964, Marcelo Leonori refurbished the interior decoration.
