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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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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.
About us
Project by: 
Created by: 
Directors:
2019-2024 Aureli Mora i Omar OrnaqueDocumental Commission:
2019-2024 Ramon Faura Carolina B. Garcia Eduard Callís Francesc Rafat Pau Albert Antoni López Daufí Joan Falgueras Mercè Bosch Jaume Farreny Anton Pàmies Juan Manuel Zaguirre Josep Ferrando Fernando Marzá Moisés Puente Aureli Mora Omar OrnaqueCollaborators:
2019-2024 Lluis Andreu Sergi Ballester Maria Jesús Quintero Lucía M. Villodres Montse ViuExternal Collaborators:
2019-2024 Helena Cepeda Inès MartinelWith the support of:
Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de CulturaCollaborating Entities:
ArquinFADFundació Mies van der Rohe
Fundación DOCOMOMO Ibérico
Basílica de la Sagrada Família
Museu del Disseny de Barcelona
Fomento
AMB
EINA Centre Universitari de Disseny i Art de Barcelona
IEFC
Fundació Domènench Montaner.
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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.
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Memory
The Barcelona City Council complex is made up of three buildings. The ancient building, six centuries old, is a veritable treatise on the history of the city and the different architectural styles, from Gothic to modernism. The so-called "new" building was built on the international exhibition of 1928. The so-called "newest" building, designed in 1958, is a controversial high-rise building in the heart of the city's historic centre. The administrative decentralisation of the town hall has made the approach of a general remodeling possible. The urban objectives set out are to recover the historical dimension of Sant Miquel Square. The dignification of this abused space is sought through the following actions: the search for a new location for the car park in the square, the display of the Roman ruins underground and the reduction of the height of the brand-new building. The aim is to establish an urban autonomy between the three buildings and a skyline more suitable to the plot of Ciutat Vella.
The functional objectives of the set are to enhance the permeability of the buildings for urban use. Access to all three buildings is provided from a single entrance hall. It is proposed to improve the connection between the three buildings, making the labyrinthine character and the architectural barriers disappear. Finally, a location has been sought for the new meeting room: more comfortable, well equipped, and with more capacity. The architectural proposals proposed in the remodeling start from a general sponging of the buildings, from the elimination of additions and corners produced by the indiscriminate accumulation of uses. In the historic building, we want to highlight the uniqueness of the Saló de Cent, making the whole complex more understandable.
The new vertical circulation of the old building allows the understanding of all the floors of the building and, at the same time, works as an access door to the new building, starting from the new axis (Sant Jaume Square), the old building and the new building. The recovery of the functionality and urbanity of the entrance of new and brand-new buildings is achieved through the appearance of a large access loggia for outdoor activities.
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Chronology (17)
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Casa de la Ciutat: Ajuntament de Barcelona. Renovació Pati Central
autoria desconeguda
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Casa de la Ciutat: Barcelona City Council. Restorations for the Universal Exhibition of 1888
In 1887, the Barcelona City Council called a tender to renovate the Casa de la Ciutat as a residence for the royal family during the Universal Exhibition of 1888. Domènech i Montaner carried it out. The Casa de la Ciutat building, of medieval origin, had arrived at the beginning of the 19th century in a deplorable state of repair. Various restoration and extension works carried out around 1820 had improved it somewhat. But the royal family had to be housed. At first the competition was declared void, and Mayor Rius i Taulet entrusted the project to Antoni Gaudí. He even presented some plans, but the Government Commission urgently commissioned Domènech i Montaner to design the project, and his went ahead. His proposal was not carried out in its entirety, and in many cases it was simplified to speed up construction, which took little more than two months. Domènech's contributions were of a constructive and distributive nature, and the restoration and reinterpretation of the interior decoration. A new monumental staircase was built to dignify access to the first floor and the space between the courtyard and the Saló de Cent was redistributed. The mayor's office and other municipal offices were relocated to accommodate the royal family. Domènech also recovered the old Gothic access gallery to the hall by demolishing all the partitions that covered the arcades and recovering the geometry of the buttresses, which had been heavily modified and had caused serious structural damage. The medieval polychromy of the coffered ceiling was recovered, windows were uncovered and new stained glass windows were installed, cabinetwork, upholstery and flooring work were carried out and skylights were created to provide natural lighting and electric lamps. Once the royal visit was over, Domènech asked for the decorative works and structural reinforcement to be completed, but they were not carried out. The modifications that were made to these spaces over the years made a large part of Domènech's work disappear. -
FAD Award
Award-Winner / Winner. Category: Interior DesignInformation Office in the Four Seasons Hall of Barcelona City HallFAD Award
Award-Winner / Winner (opinion). Category: Interior DesignInformation Office in the Four Seasons Hall of Barcelona City HallRemodelling of the Nou and Novíssim Buildings of Barcelona City Hall
Manuel Brullet i Tenas, Albert de Pineda i Álvarez
The Barcelona City Council complex is made up of three buildings. The ancient building, six centuries old, is a veritable treatise on the history of the city and the different architectural styles, from Gothic to modernism. The so-called "new" building was built on the international exhibition of 1928. The so-called "newest" building, designed in 1958, is a controversial high-rise building in the heart of the city's historic centre. The administrative decentralisation of the town hall has made the approach of a general remodeling possible. The urban objectives set out are to recover the historical dimension of Sant Miquel Square. The dignification of this abused space is sought through the following actions: the search for a new location for the car park in the square, the display of the Roman ruins underground and the reduction of the height of the brand-new building. The aim is to establish an urban autonomy between the three buildings and a skyline more suitable to the plot of Ciutat Vella. The functional objectives of the set are to enhance the permeability of the buildings for urban use. Access to all three buildings is provided from a single entrance hall. It is proposed to improve the connection between the three buildings, making the labyrinthine character and the architectural barriers disappear. Finally, a location has been sought for the new meeting room: more comfortable, well equipped, and with more capacity. The architectural proposals proposed in the remodeling start from a general sponging of the buildings, from the elimination of additions and corners produced by the indiscriminate accumulation of uses. In the historic building, we want to highlight the uniqueness of the Saló de Cent, making the whole complex more understandable. The new vertical circulation of the old building allows the understanding of all the floors of the building and, at the same time, works as an access door to the new building, starting from the new axis (Sant Jaume Square), the old building and the new building. The recovery of the functionality and urbanity of the entrance of new and brand-new buildings is achieved through the appearance of a large access loggia for outdoor activities.FAD Award
Award-Winner / Winner. Category: ArchitectureRemodelling of the Nou and Novíssim Buildings of Barcelona City Hall
