Edifici entre mitgeres de concepció encara vinculada al segle XIX, però enriquit amb una profusa decoració modernista que li confereix singularitat. Destaquen especialment el tractament ornamental de la planta baixa i el conjunt de tribunes dels dos primers pisos, que constitueixen els elements més rellevants de la composició. La part superior, possiblement resultat d’un afegit posterior, ha estat transformada de manera poc afortunada, alterant en part la coherència original del conjunt.

The building located at number 36 Carrer de Balmes in Barcelona, better known as Fomento de Obras y Construcciones, was designed in 1924 by Jaume Torres i Grau. It stands within the block bounded by Carrer d’Enric Granados, Carrer del Consell de Cent and Carrer de la Diputació, with its principal façade opening onto number 36 Carrer de Balmes. It constitutes one of the finest examples of classicist Noucentisme in Barcelona’s architecture and currently houses offices and business premises. Built on a polygonal plot, the structure rises to five storeys (ground floor plus four upper floors). Beneath the cornice runs a narrow space allowing ventilation of the building’s “terrat a la catalana” (Catalan flat roof), visible on the façade through small rectangular openings. The plan is organised around three light wells —one central and two lateral— around which, together with the grand monumental staircase, the various rooms are arranged. The façade, constructed in Montjuïc stone, displays a clearly differentiated tripartite composition articulated by pilasters and is characterised by a sober monumentality achieved through a classical vocabulary, albeit with certain Baroque features. Each storey presents a distinct composition, consistently employing elements drawn from the classical repertoire to emphasise the building’s representative character. The ground floor contains the main entrance; its central bay is occupied by a doorway crowned with a broken triangular pediment and flanked by two segmental-arched windows. This type of segmental arch reappears on a larger scale in the lateral bays, forming two substantial portals. A narrow cornice line separates the ground floor from the upper storeys and serves as the base for the parapet balconies on the first floor. The openings on this floor are marked by their classicist composition, making use of Corinthian columns arranged in groups of three (one per façade bay), forming gallery-like structures that are repeated on the floor above. Separated from this by a Doric cornice, the next level also presents gallery-style openings, but here with Ionic columns crowned by alternating triangular and semicircular pediments. This superimposition of orders is interrupted on the third floor, which features a series of moulded rectangular windows (three per façade bay), separated from the uppermost level by a narrow cornice. The top floor is designed as a “solana” or arcaded gallery with smooth-shafted columns and Ionic capitals supporting a continuous entablature, above which are set the small openings of the previously mentioned Catalan flat roof. The building is completed by a large cornice with a Doric entablature, surmounted by four allegorical sculptures created by Josep Tenas.

Located in the Ciutat Vella district, the Post and Telegraph Office occupies the entire block bounded by Plaça d’Antoni López, Carrer de la Fusteria, Carrer d’Àngel Baixeras, and Via Laietana. This freestanding building presents four façades facing each of these streets, although the principal entrance is accessed from Plaça d’Antoni López. With a trapezoidal plan and chamfered corners, the building rises from a semi-basement to two principal storeys, an attic level, and an accessible roof terrace along the two bays facing Plaça Antoni López and Carrer de la Fusteria. Along the elevations facing Via Laietana and Carrer d’Àngel Baixeras, an additional upper attic storey is incorporated. Rising above the cornice line, the chamfered corners are crowned by three circular towers of varying heights. The principal entrance leads into a spacious vestibule containing the staircases to the upper floors and access to the great central hall. The four façades are organised through a regular rhythm of vertical and horizontal axes, and are entirely clad in Montjuïc stone. The principal façade, facing Plaça Antoni López, is conceived as a monumental composition framed by the lateral towers and the central entrance body. Flanking this central section are the semi-basement portals, opened directly at street level and integrated within the building’s base. The central body consists of a tetrastyle portico formed by giant-order pilasters and columns with richly ornamented Ionic capitals embracing the two principal storeys. Resting upon a broad staircase, the portico is crowned by four sculptures and the coat of arms of the Royal Household from the reign of Alfonso XIII. The giant Ionic order of the portico is repeated on the corner towers and across the façades facing Via Laietana and Carrer de la Fusteria, where it takes the form of giant pilasters. Within the intercolumniations are the openings of the first and second floors, framed by Ionic columns and triangular pediments. The attic level, resting above the entablature of the giant order that runs around the entire building, is the most richly ornamented part of the composition. This storey features balconies with wrought-iron railings and door surrounds decorated with sculpted floral reliefs on the jambs and lintels. Above these openings runs a cornice articulated with corbels and garlands flanking the circular roof ventilators, while the roofline itself is enclosed by a balustrade of stone balusters. Above the cornice line, the three corner towers interrupt the overall horizontality of the building. The tower at the chamfer of Via Laietana and Plaça Antoni López is the tallest, consisting of a long fluted drum with paired pilasters supporting a belvedere in the form of a circular temple, composed of paired Ionic columns enclosed by wrought-iron railings. Above this circular structure rises a further Ionic pavilion with a cruciform plan and Ionic porticoes supporting a final level formed by an octagonal lantern articulated with pilasters. The other two towers, lower and simpler in composition, consist of drums decorated with Ionic half-columns and cartouches, above which rest lanterns adorned with volutes and attached urns. The great central hall is the most remarkable interior space. Square in plan, it is covered by an extraordinary system of iron and glass skylights forming the shape of a transept. Four freestanding giant-order Ionic columns support the pendentives of a vast glazed dome together with its four radiating arms. At each of the four corners, four smaller glass domes were also constructed. The arches and vaults, together with the spandrels and ribs of the entire roofing system, are entirely decorated with paintings and reliefs in stucco featuring allegorical themes by Francesc de A. Galí, Josep Obiols, Francesc Labarta, and Francesc Canyellas. The perimeter walls of the hall are structured through an arrangement of Tuscan and Ionic pilasters and columns framing the large windows and the original timber-and-glass ticket counters of the two principal storeys.