About
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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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:
2019-2025 Aureli Mora i Omar OrnaqueDocumental Commission:
2019-2025 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:
2019-2025 Lluis Andreu Sergi Ballester Maria Jesús Quintero Lucía M. Villodres Montse ViuExternal Collaborators:
2019-2025 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.
Suggestion box
Request the image
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.
close
close
Memory
Arquitecte nascut a Barcelona l'any 1873 que obté el títol d'arquitecte el 1903, compartint per tant promoció amb Josep Pijoan Soteras, reconegut historiador de l'art, i Bernardi Martorell Puig, arquitecte modernista de gran prestigi. Entre els professors que marcarien la seva formació cal destacar Elies Rogent, Joan Torras Guardiola, August Font Carreras i J. Rovira Rabassa, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, J. Vilaseca i Josep Puig i Cadafalch. A partir del contacte amb personatges tant representatius del modernisme, els joves estudiants conegueren l'obra d'Otto Wagner, J.M. Olbrich, G. Semper, H.P. Berlage i els postulat en matèria de restauració de monument de Viollet-le-Duc.
Jeroni Martorell va encetar la seva carrera professional amb edificis de ple modernisme, com és el cas de la seu de la Caixa d'Estalvis de Sabadell, l'Escola Industrial i el Cinema Imperial a la mateixa ciutat, a més d'edificis de vivendes particulars i reformes. A partir de 1915 projecta edificis per a institucions públiques, sobretot escoles, on segueix els postulats de renovació pedagògica impulsats per la Mancomunitat de Catalunya (1914-1925). Exemples d'aquesta pedagogia d'avantguarda aplicada als edificis escolars són els projectes de Granollers, Calella, Torroella de Montgrí, Vilobí, Banyoles, Batea, Súria, Sant Joan de les Abadeses, Ribes de Freser i Vilassar de Dalt, executats entre 1917 i 1925.
Durant aquests anys projectarà altres tipologies d'edificis públics: ajuntaments, mercats i escorxadors, ublicats tant en el territori català com a la resta de l'Estat: Súria, Brea de Aragón, Castellfollit del Boix, Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Centelles, Manresa, Olesa de Montserrat, Calella, etc. No podem oblidar les seves intervencions en el camp de l'arquitectura religiosa (les esglésies de Súria i Santa Maria de Vilafranca del Penedés) abans de la guerra civil i, també, les restauracions posteriors d'edificis i altars malmesos.
En la seva trajectòria professional destaca el punt d'inflexió que representa el seu nomenament, l'any 1914, com a Director del Servei de Conservació de Monuments (Diputació de Barcelona). Aquest nomenament va ser proposat per Josep Puig i Cadafalch i el seu company de promoció Josep Pijoan. A partir d'aquest moment i fins a la seva mort (1951), la seva tasca professional es centra de forma decidida cap a la protecció del patrimoni monumental. En són bons exemples les intervencions a les muralles d'Hostalric, a Montblanc i a Tossa; en els monestirs de Poblet i Sant Cugat del Vallès, en el conjunt de Sant Pere de Rodes, en el pont de Martorell, a les esglésies romàniques de Terrassa, a les Reials Drassanes i a la Casa dels Velers de Barcelona... Per altra banda, en col·laboració amb la Diputació de Girona, s'emprén la restauració dels Banys Àrabs.
Aquest interés per la divulgació i la valoració del patrimoni Jeroni Martorell el desenvolupa també a través del Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, on el 1904 impulsa la creació de la Secció d'Arquitectura, que ell mateix presideix. En aquest ambient d'impuls a l'excursionisme com element difusor del patrimoni i la seva salvaguarda, l'any 1907 Martorell projecta el Xalet-Refugi d'Ull de Ter (Setcases) com a primera iniciativa d'aquestes característiques a Catalunya. Pocs anys més tard, amb Puig i Cadafalch fomentarà des del CEC la creació de l'inventari Gràfic de Catalunya, com a base de treball per a una recopilació i valoració de la riquesa del patrimoni monumental del país.
Jeroni Martorell es va interessar i va teoritzar sobre els problemes urbanístics. És coneguda la seva disconformitat amb la rigidesa geomètrica de l'urbanisme de Barcelona.
Jeroni Martorell mor a Barcelona l'any 1951.
Source: Arxiu Històric del COAC
Works (15)
On the Map
Awarded
Cataloged
Disappeared
All works
Constellation
Chronology (15)
-
Miquel Blanxart i Estapé House
Result of the refurbishment of an old building, which faces two streets and has a party wall. It consists of a ground floor and two landings. The main façade of symmetrical composition; the balcony is run along the two façades. The windows on the second floor have a very original awning, in the shape of a circle. On the ground floor there are the typical modernist windows with plant and animal motifs. A female figure stands out holding the tribune. The façade is decorated with floral geometric sgraffitos following a modernist language. J. M. Barnardas oversaw the decoration. The building is located on the street-road that crosses the town: it comes from the first extension of the late 19th century, and is the current main axis of the urban centre where we find represented the architectural movements of the last hundred years (Casa Margarit, Casa Torrebadella, Museum…). -
Industrial School of Arts and Crafts
Public building intended for a vocational education school. It consists of two large naves and a lateral tower containing the staircase. One of the buildings is placed parallel to the street and consists of basements and two floors. The other ship is perpendicular to the first, its front faces the street and only has a ground floor. The staircase tower has a circular plan, it is crowned by a pavilion cover of ceramic flakes and its upper openings have the shape of a parabolic arch. The façades are modernist and have a stone plinth and the rest of the façade is a combination of exposed work and stucco. The cornice and windowsills are decorated with green ceramics. The main nave has a gable roof while the other has a sawtooth roof. The current Caixa de Sabadell Social Work building was to house the classrooms, workshops and offices of the School of Arts and Crafts. It was built between 1907 and 1910 by Jeroni Martorell, who at the same time was building the Caixa d'Estalvis building with the help of the same team of craftsmen. The sculptor Tomàs Priu i Marine would collaborate. The school occupied the building for fifty years, but later underwent a refurbishment inside, in order to adapt the building to the headquarters of the Cultural Work of La Caixa d'Estalvis, which was carried out by the architect J. Vila Juanico and decorator R. Ribalta. In 1992, renovation works were carried out on the ground floor to adapt it to a library, creating an access through Font Street. -
Sabadell Savings Bank
In 1902, due to the growth that the Caixa de Sabadell was facing, it was decided to acquire a plot of land between the partitions in the centre of Sabadell to locate the entity's headquarters. It is known as the “Palau de l'Estalvi”, and has become a key piece in the modernist art scene. The neo-Gothic building with a modernist interior was designed to house the cash office, the library and an assembly hall. It consists of three levels: basement, ground floor and first floor. The ground floor was originally occupied by the library, but it currently houses the offices for attention and service to the public, as well as the management and government offices of the institution. On this same floor there is a large porticoed hall. On the ground floor there is the Modernist Hall and the Council Room. Inside the building, the use of carved stone with medieval and plant motifs stands out. The capitals of the columns stand out, sculpted with roses and sunflowers. A monument dedicated to the founder Pere Turull should be highlighted. In the main hall there are several polychrome stained-glass windows with representations alluding to Industry, Agriculture, Commerce, the State and the Clergy. The patio skylight is also decorated with stained glass. The façade is made of stone, with two sculptures representing Virtue and Work. It is structured in three bodies: the central one is higher and has the plane of the façade shifted, standing out over the lateral ones, with less decoration and a pronounced horizontality and sobriety. Stained-glass windows and sgraffitos with floral and symbolic motifs are abundant. To build the building, the managers of La Caixa called a tender between Catalan architects or residents of Catalonia. Five projects were submitted, but according to the jury, none of them met the expected conditions and one of them decided to entrust the project to one of the submitted projects, which was carried out by Jeroni Martorell. The works began in 1906 and two years later, with the finished structure, interior decoration work began. In 1910, the works were partially stopped due to the parallel construction of the Industrial School of Arts and Crafts, the current headquarters of the Obra Social Caixa Sabadell. Since 1916, most of Caixa de Sabadell's services have been carried out in the new building. Between 1968-1970, a refurbishment was carried out by the architect G. Bracons, modifying the ground floor and replacing the rear façade of tiles and stucco with a concrete one. -
El Campet
Property located at the crossroads of Pius Macià and Ignasi Abadal streets. It is a construction with a ground floor and three landings. The façade of the first three floors is made of stone masonry with the openings highlighted by exposed brick jambs. The work has been carried out in exposed brickwork. Of particular note is the black and white glazed ceramic decoration that is located in the frame of some of the openings. The name comes from the place name of the site. In 1905 and 1906 the place was known as the ‘Campet de l'Ermenter’. The house ‘Villa Carmen’ was built around 1920 by Lluís Fàbrega i Planas. -
Primera Restauració dels Banys Àrabs
Emili Blanch Roig, Jeroni Martorell Terrats, Rafael Masó i Valentí
Establiment públic de bany situat extramurs, al peu de la ciutat i en terreny del rei. Els seus orígens es remunten a una permuta d’Alfons el Cast als Llers, en què la Suda de Lleida es bescanvia per aquesta concessió (1194); la presa de possessions àrabs fa retrobar costums i imitar arquitectures als cristians. L’edifici resulta destruït arran del setge del 1285 i es genera una nova concessió estatal, de Jaume II a Ramon de Taialà, que basteix un costós i ampli conjunt del qual ens ha arribat una part. Ja intramurs, Pere III el cedeix per contracte al metge Arnau de Sarriera el 1342. Al llarg de 190 anys queda en mans dels Capmany com a banys privats, i el 1618 les caputxines el compren per al seu convent, on es reclou i perviu fins al 1929, moment en què acaba un llarg procés d’expropiació. Aquest edifici cristià, completament romànic i amb elements de «moda» arabitzant, s’estructura seguint la seqüència tipològica nord-africana, hereva del termalisme romà. L’accés per llevant (no era l’actual) mena al vestidor (maslah o apoditeri), lloc de relació, preparació i conversa; al frigidari, amb latrines i voltes de pedra tosca; al tepidari dels massatges i, finalment, al caldari o hararà per al bany calent i de vapor. Aquest darrer limita amb l’equip tècnic, format per forn, calderes i cisternes. La seqüència gaudeix d’un sistema integrat de conducció d’aigua calenta i desguassa a una impecable claveguera existent. A Girona, el vestidor és l’espai arquitectònic més brillant, amb la piscina central per a ablucions vuitavada amb elegants columnes d’estilitzats capitells corintis, damunt de les quals s’assenta un tambor octogonal que gaudeix d’una llanterna i s’entrega en trompa cònica a l’estructura voltada de canó. Les finestres apuntades de ponent miraven al jardí. Després de la restauració del 1930, el treball recent ha estat d’investigació i d’organització de cobertes, instal·lacions i deambulatori turístic. -
Biblioteca Popular Costa i Fornaguera
La biblioteca Costa i Fornaguera és un edifici civil d'estil noucentista construït a principi del segle XX. És un edifici aïllat i de planta rectangular que es composa de tres volums diferenciats. Al centre hi ha el volum principal, de planta baixa i pis i la coberta a quatre vessants, al qual s'adossa a cada costat un volum d'un sol nivell d'alçat i la coberta a tres vessants. El frontis del volum principal s'obre a la planta baixa amb tres grans pòrtics d'arc de mig punt de pedra que descansen sobre columnes de fust llis, entre les quals hi ha una tanca amb un treball de forja destacat. Sobre del pòrtic central hi ha un escut de Calella en relleu. També es conserva la tanca amb un treball de forja destacat. Al pis hi ha tres finestrals d'arc mixtilini amb un ampit a dos nivells amb ceràmica vidriada verda, que es repeteixen en cadascun dels volums laterals. El ràfec està acabat amb una imbricació de rajols i teules ceràmiques i sobre el carener hi sobresurten gerros de terracota. L'acabat exterior és arrebossat i pintat, amb les cantonades i el sòcol amb plafons de pedra. La distribució interior es manté original amb un vestíbul encarat a escalinata doble d'estil imperial que permet accedir al primer pis, on hi ha la biblioteca. La biblioteca es conserva en estat original. S'hi accedeix per un cancell de fusta, sobre del qual hi ha l'altell. És una estança àmplia amb un enteixinat enteixinat i un fris que ressegueix la part superior del mur. El paviment és de rajola hidràulica blanca i gris. Als quatre costats hi ha els prestatges de fusta originals, que també veiem sobre l'altell. També s'hi conserva en bon estat part del mobiliari original. -
Restoration of the Lloctinent Palace
The project seeks to restore the typological and morphological values of this Renaissance Palace, locating the broadcasting and public attention services of the archive. The action determines a remodeling of the area of some old houses where the core of vertical communications and public services are placed, and with the general control on the ground floor of this core. The exhibition space is in the corridors on the ground floor, which has independent public access from the rest of the archive. The meeting room is on the main floor, with a foyer that takes advantage of the existing carpeted room and representative offices. On the second floor, the crevices are left clean, open to various didactic and administrative uses, and an ambulatory is enabled above the patio loggia to ensure circulation. The internal services are in the third tier. The action tends to value the building as a public facility, underlining the function of the courtyard as an open space in the city, with double access from Rei Square and Comtes Street. -
Cal Sanyes
Building located on the corner of González Solesio and Vilanova streets. It is a four-storey building with a roof. The symmetrical composition of the openings in the form of a depressed concave arch, the continuous balustrades on the first and second floors, the façade cladding in the form of sgraffitied ashlars and the work of the metal railings with their curved forms stand out. The grandstand on the corner of the first floor is also worth noting. The entire building is crowned by an eave with a jagged decoration and a rooftop enclosed by a metal railing and small masonry pilasters. The building originally belonged to the Sañes family, a lineage of local tailors. -
Súria City Council and Schools
An isolated building, located in the central district of the town, on a 3480 square metre plot of land, with the building occupying only 382.70 square metres (17.20 metres wide by 22.25 metres deep). It has a ground floor and two upper floors with a central courtyard for light and ventilation, where the staircase leading to the first floor is located. It has a regular and symmetrical façade composition with vertical axes of openings, in slightly trefoil arches, with alternating balconies with iron railings and windows. The central axis of the main façade contains the lintelled doorway and the representative balcony, with a voussoired arch and the coat of arms of the town council in relief on the keystone. Above the cornice, a mixtilinear pediment. The doorway leads to a courtyard with a grand staircase around which the rooms are organised. The courtyard and staircase are designed in the tradition of the Catalan Gothic house, a Noucentista feature which, together with the rationality and simplification of the forms, gives character to the building. The roof is made of wood and tiles. The material used is brick. The work was promoted by the mayor of the time, Jaume Biadiu Morera, because the premises occupied by the Town Hall were needed for housing. The awarding of the works to Jeroni Martorell without a prior tender was motivated by his acquaintance with the town hall secretary Mario Arnal Duran. The building was born as a Town Hall and Public Schools, which were two separate buildings attached to both sides of the town hall. Of the two annexes, one no longer exists today and the other was never even built.
