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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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 layout of Passeig de St Joan as an important 50m boulevard was first laid down by Ildefons Cerdà in his Eixample project, approved in 1859.
The new remodelling proposal sets two basic objectives: to give priority to the pedestrian use of the boulevard and turn it into a new urban green zone extending right up to Ciutadella Park.
In order to achieve these objectives the project has adopted three fundamental urban planning criteria:
- To guarantee the continuity of the section along the length of the boulevard. The new section is symmetrical and extends the width of the current pavements from 12.5m to 17m, maintaining the century old trees and accompanying them with two new rows of trees.
- To adapt the urban space to different uses. The 17m of pavement have been organised in such a way that 6m are allocated to a pedestrian pavement whilst the remaining 11m under the rows of trees are for recreational uses (benches, children's play areas and bar terraces). The new proposal reduces the number of traffic lanes, creates leisure zones under the trees and segregates the bicycle lane.
- To promote the Passeig de St Joan as a new and sustainable urban green zone. In order to achieve this, two new rows of trees will be planted on both sides of the existing century old trees to create an area of natural shade that will accommodate the new recreational zones. The treatment of the soil with mixed pavements and the automatic watering system that uses phreatic water are key to ensuring substrata drainage that will guarantee the survival of the vegetation.
With this new proposal, the Passeig de St Joan has won back its social value as an urban space that provides a variety of requested uses and functions whilst also addressing key aspects of biodiversity and sustainability.
This street’s urban transformation has enabled us to revitalise its commercial life and recreational uses, whilst at the same time retrieving its historical value as a main boulevard that continues right up to Ciutadella Park.