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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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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.

Aureli Mora i Omar Ornaque
Directors arquitecturacatalana.cat

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About us

Project by:

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Directors:

2019-2024 Aureli Mora i Omar Ornaque

Documental Commission:

2019-2024 Ramon Faura Carolina B. Garcia Francesc Rafat Antoni López Daufí Joan Falgueras Anton Pàmies Mercè Bosch Josep Ferrando Fernando Marzá Aureli Mora Omar Ornaque

External Collaborators:

2019-2024 Lluis Andreu Sergi Ballester Helena Cepeda Inès Martinel Maria Jesús Quintero

With the support of:

Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Cultura

Collaborating Entities:

ArquinFAD

 

Fundació Mies van der Rohe

 

Fundación DOCOMOMO Ibérico

 

Arxiu Mas

 

Basílica de la Sagrada Família

 

Museu del Disseny de Barcelona

 

EINA Centre Universitari de Disseny i Art de Barcelona

Design & Development:

edittio Nubilum
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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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Works (18)

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Chronology (20)

  1. Neichel Restaurant

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Neichel Restaurant

    When you enter the Neichel, you don't become aware of the decoration, the light or the sound dampening in isolation: you get the impression of a whole that breathes well-being and predicts a good meal. Nothing is strident or brusque. There is a harmony of greys and ochres, almost white greys and ochres with red dots. There are neither few nor many pieces of furniture, neither very small distances, nor "Grand Luxe" nor asceticism. Once having crossed the entrance area, with the bar painted by Maria Girona, the style will have continuity at the tables. The dim light that enters through the small garden that opens in front of the restaurant is nuanced by the thick walls lined with wood. In the other corner, the service takes place, that is, the delivery and departure of dishes from the kitchen. It is the necessary way of gastronomic activity. Once daytime is over, the restaurant seems to light up almost by magic at night. There are practically no points of light other than those presiding over each of the furniture-offices that separate the dining room from the service corridor. The kitchens are the counterpoint to so much silence and perfection. A frenetic activity is bubbling there: it is the engine of every great establishment. The Neichel restaurant won the FAD award for interior design in 1981.
  2. FAD Award

    Award-Winner / Winner (opinion). Category: Interior Design
    Neichel Restaurant

  3. Rehabilitation of Pascual i Pons Palace

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, MBM Arquitectes, Oriol Bohigas i Guardiola, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, David Mackay, Josep Maria Martorell i Codina, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Rehabilitation of Pascual i Pons Palace

    Between 1890 and 1891, the architect Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia built two adjacent palaces on lots number 2 and 4 of Passeig de Gràcia for Mr. Sebastià Pascual and for his brother-in-law D. Alexandre Pons. The obvious contact between both owners allowed Sagnier to build the two buildings with obvious organisational but, above all, stylistic connections. During the years until the start of the project, there were many works of varying significance that were carried out, leaving countless scars on the building. Despite the unfortunate state of the building, the Barcelona City Council has it listed in its catalog of buildings to preserve because of its testimonial value of Catalan modernism. Things being this way, they decided to draw up the expansion, rehabilitation and transformation project. The main features of this extensive and complex intervention were, firstly, to unify the two old palaces in a single building, the access of which is from Passeig de Gràcia. The scope of this unification is to remodel the vertical accesses, elevators and stairs, around a courtyard of light that is one of the points of greatest interest in the project. Secondly, to undertake the works to rejuvenate the constructive system of the building. Thirdly, the 5th floor is extended over the old roof, taking advantage of the opening under the barbican. The introduction of the gallery in the rencontre between the façade and the roof tends to improve the slenderness of the building. The criteria for restoring the façade are various: reintegrate the pinnacle with an orthogonal base, repair all the deteriorated elements, replace some Gothic windows that were mutilated and integrate into the configuration scheme the façades built on the old platforms of Casp Street and Ronda Universitat as of the openings on the ground floor once the commercial character of these has been consolidated. We wanted to maintain the duality between the old and modern building with the coexistence of the original hall on the ground floor, executed in Montjuic stone and stucco, with the vertical patio built with white concrete understood as a version of technological stone, and to restore the few pieces of the first floor that have managed to survive to this day. The light fixture in the old lobby was designed by Miguel Milá.
  4. FAD Award

    Award-Winner / Winner. Category: Restoration
    Rehabilitation of Pascual i Pons Palace

  5. Lleida Park Residential Complex

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Lleida Park Residential Complex

    El conjunt residencial “Lleida Parc” es composa de diversos conjunts d’habitatges, cadascun d’ells de 4 a 6 habitatges adossats. Cadascun d’aquests conjunts es composen d’un aparcament conjunt i de tres plantes on desenvolupar el programa de cadascun dels habitatges.
  6. School of Agricultural Engineers of Catalonia

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    School of Agricultural Engineers of Catalonia

    L’edifici integra dos cossos existents i té dues façanes ben diferenciades, una de totxo vist i un altre de vidre reflectant que permet a les zones de passadissos de comunicació donar llum i vistes al exterior i crear un efecte mirall amb l’edifici existent molt evocador. Organitza per sectors ben diferenciats els diferents programes de l'Escola, alhora que potencia el més significatiu i amaga part dels edificis antigues, com un joc de veig i no veig. El que es veu és l'edifici principal sobre un fons cortina que reflecteix el paisatge. El que no es veu és la resta de edificacions que queden barrejades i embolicades pel discorrent nou edifici d'obra vista. La façana principal s'obre sobre l'extens parc fruiter, és un continu mur-cortina, com una tensa i fina pell que tanca en el seu interior els circuits de distribució. Les façanes sud i est estan tractades amb murs d'obra vista trepats per amplis finestrals amb protecció solar. Aquestes façanes corresponen a el sector aulari i de laboratoris. A l'iniciar el projecte vam tenir una constant obsessió en diferenciar el nou del vell, en aclarir l'enteniment dels nous edificis (units però no barrejats). Haurien de ser diferents en color, textura, il·luminació, fins i tot en programa i per tant en el seu ús. Per això els espais de contacte van requerir una especial delicadesa, es va tendir a la neutralitat, predomini de lluernaris, colors blancs i una gran generositat de superfícies.
  7. Rehabilitation of the Faculty of Medicine

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Rehabilitation of the Faculty of Medicine

    In 1907, the Clínic Hospital of Barcelona was inaugurated and, with it, the Faculty of Medicine, belonging to the University of Barcelona. With this, the old aspirations of abandoning the buildings on the Rambla dels Estudis, which housed the Faculty of Medicine on its return from Bourbon exile, due to the New Plant decree of 1716, were satisfied. The evolution of medical studies, and specifically the qualitative leap that the 1983 law meant, required an adaptation to the new demands. The main characteristic of this transformation was to create departments dedicated to research and promoting knowledge, the basis of modern universities. To some extent, these transformations have been possible thanks to the quality of the spaces, the formalisation responds to criteria of functional neutrality, which makes the transition from classrooms to laboratories very simple, although these require complex and very specific equipment. The classic outline of the modeling repertoire, in the strictest Beauxartian tradition, has been respected and even improved in some points. It must be emphasised that the grandeur of the common spaces, of a certainly attractive and ritualistic dimension, of something that exceeds the strict necessity, such as the main staircase, the great hall, the cloister or the distribution corridors, imprint a clarity and architectural grandeur that deserved to be preserved. The spatial requirements have forced us to incorporate the basement floor and the floor under the roof, apart from the increase represented by the partition of the classrooms, by means of an intermediate slab. The cores of stairs located on the sides have been relocated centrally in a space where we believe they should have been. In these points, our proposal improves the typological organisation of the classic plan. This staircase gives way to the original and the new floors, introduced through the floor slab partition of levels one and three. The way these new plants reach the façade, in order to avoid the solution of splitting the window in two, led us to make the new level depend on the old one, as if it were a duplex. Therefore, we have built interior stairs arranged parallel to the façade that resolve the vertical connections following a typological rather than a functional order. The façades are composed of windows with stone lintels and jambs, arranged in an orderly manner on a stucco base, which is why its rehabilitation was of special interest. The quality of the stone is not up to the packaging that was intended to be given to the building. It is a stone that has not completed the geological period of formation that corresponded to it, therefore, as easy to work with as it is quick to decompose, especially in the parts most exposed to inclement weather. Once the stones have been cleaned, the shape they had has been recovered, but only as a base to support a sheet of zinc, so that a more complex calligraphy than the original has been incorporated and which gives lightness to a more massive than Doric composition.
  8. Reconstruction of the Pavilion of the Republic

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Reconstruction of the Pavilion of the Republic

    The 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, beyond the merely sporting and urban, represented for the city the recovery of its history, which was interrupted in 1936. It has been the most important event in recent times, thanks to which the city has regained its former splendor. That is why the Olympic Stadium was renamed with the name of the martyred president, Lluís Companys. From this wish of uniting the past with the present, the idea of reconstructing the Spanish pavilion that the Republic commissioned for the 1937 International Exhibition in Paris was born. This pavilion represented an act of the Republic, already in the midst of the Civil War. Everything that the Republic represented for a large part of the citizens was expressed in it, with the participation of the most important Spanish artists, who were really relevant at an international level: Picasso with his Guernica, made expressly for the building, The Catalan peasant in revolt by Joan Miró, Montserrat by Julio González, the Mercury Fountain by Calder, and the building by Josep Lluís Sert, with the collaboration of Luis Lacasa commissioned directly by the Government of Madrid. Such a work was entrusted to us despite the little material that was available, because, due to the urgency with which it was built, an ad hoc architectural project was not carried out. We only had a few photographs, a certainly necessary material but it did not enlighten us, for example, about certain materials or colours. Knowledge of Sert's work, interpretation of the documentation found both at the Reina Sofía Art Centre in Madrid and at the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, and constructive logic, were the tools we used to rebuild the pavilion. The Minister of Culture at the time, Jorge Semprún, promised that during the Games the authentic Guernica would occupy the same place on the wall as in that event. It did not happen that way and the wall was left empty. Out of respect for Picasso's work, we left the wall grey, which is the most abundant part of the painting, and Picasso's signature in white on it (we should remember that the Guernica was never signed). The project falls under the canons of GATPAC rationalism, according to the times in which it was made. It responds to a rectangle of 28.8 by 10.8 and 12 metres high. The entire building is perfectly suited to this modulation. Everyone knows the use for which the pavilion was intended as built by Josep Lluís Sert, that is, as a small showcase structured around a unidirectional itinerary, through which the programmatic content that was exhibited could be seen. It is accessed by a few steps that lead us to the patio, a Mediterranean garment par excellence, and in which countless cultural events were held. Through a ramp, combined with a staircase, the upper level is reached. This part of the building departs from the most classic canons of early rationalism and points to organic forms that shortly after Alvar Aalto rises to its own characteristic within rationalism. From the interior and always along predetermined routes, you go down until you reach the door on the first floor, from where you go outside, to go down a staircase that deposits the visitor at the end of the route. Due to its architectural characteristics, the building seemed intended for a similar use to that of the original in Paris and, consequently, it should be possible to hold art exhibitions, so our reconstruction was forced to provide it with modern installations: electrical, air conditioning, elevator and a basement, where all the machines that such updating required could be placed.
  9. UdL Polytechnic School of Informatics

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    UdL Polytechnic School of Informatics

    L’edifici és format per dos cossos ben diferenciats en la seva concepció, que acullen les dues parts principals en què es divideix el programa, i alhora responen de manera diferent a les condicions urbanes del carrer Jaume II, en un cas, i de l’interior del campus, en l’altre cas. El cos que s’alinea amb el carrer assumeix la condició urbana dels diversos edificis que formen aquesta façana, que construeixen l’espai del carrer Jaume II amb grans edificacions amb separacions de 25 metres i creen un passeig rectilini que voreja el riu. El cos interior, destinat a tallers i aules especials, es relaciona amb el caràcter semirural dels orígens del lloc i presenta una volumetria orientada gràcies a una coberta corba i a la presència de grans finestrals. Tots dos cossos queden units per un espai de relació, un passeig interior vidrat i de doble alçada. L’entrada des del carrer té lloc a través d’un cos que adopta una geometria específica, independent de la resta de l’edifici, i que permet accedir immediatament a la part posterior. L’edifici dóna respostes independents a les condicions de l’exterior del campus i de l’interior, i aprofita aquesta clara discriminació per a una bona organització del programa.
  10. Montserrat Choir School

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Montserrat Choir School

    Del conjunt d'edificis que constitueixen l'abadia de Montserrat, els tres situats a la part més septentrional van ser objecte de diferents transformacions per establir-hi la nova Escolania. Per lligar aquestes edificacions, vam construir dues noves escales, una a l'ala sud del Monestir i l'altra a la Torre del Clericat, que és la construcció més alta. Aquestes dues escales articulen realment els diversos nivells de la construcció. En sentit ascendent, les dues primeres plantes són ocupades per l'ensenyament reglat. Al tercer nivell trobem l'escola de música, que inclou la sala d'assaig, de proporcions notables, ja que fa una alçària i mitja. Finalment el quart nivell -a la mateixa cota que la planta baixa del tercer edifici, l'antic Noviciat-, es dedica a la part domèstica de l'Escolania, l'internat. Aquesta part és la que ha rebut la intervenció més important, ja que hem aconseguit transformar un antic pati en veritable claustre. Des d'aquí, no solament rep llum i ventilació tota la planta, sinó que el nou claustre també és un marc magnífic de contemplació del perfil orogràfic de Montserrat. La darrera planta de l'ala sud del Monestir és ocupada pel nou Novicat, que, tot i compartir la resta de l'edifici, té la particularitat de quedar-se separat a fi de no entrelligar ambdós programes. Des de l'exterior, la intervenció és notablement respectuosa amb el conjunt existent, a fi de no interferir en la imatge ja reconeguda del Monestir. La darrera planta es va construir com un àtic amb un refós, on, sobre la paret de pedra, es produeix el canvi entre les finestres noves i les balconades antigues. La coberta fou revestida de coure, com s'havia fet a la Basílica uns anys abans.
  11. Communication Library and General Press Library of the UAB

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Communication Library and General Press Library of the UAB

    The old campus of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona rises above the stream bed of the Can Magrans stream. The unique topography of the valley is saved by means of hypostyle structures that support the Plaça Cívica, which, rising above the riverbed, rests on the colonnade. On the west side, where the building we are describing stands, there is a retaining wall and a moat that resolve the passage between the Plaça Cívica and the pine forest, of great value. The above elements make it a unique setting among Catalan universities, since buildings and nature coexist in an exemplary way. The ground floor of the building rises to the same level as the Plaça Cívica. This floor, dedicated to access, control, information and student service, also contains a multipurpose room. The first level is intended for Library Management services. The other three belong to the library and newspaper library. The upper floor, at the level of the pine forest, is a construction open to the vegetation. This is the reason why the building inverts its façade according to the height. The wall opposite the openings is solid and houses the bookstore. Quite the opposite, the lower floors up to Plaça Cívica orientate themselves on the square and take advantage of the wall's blindness to accommodate all the bookstores. In the layout of the spaces, it should be noted that this façade faces north, the most suitable orientation for a library. The building, therefore, is completely turned upside down to give meaning to the different situation on the ground: the Plaça Cívica on one side, and the grove or garden square on the other.
  12. Hotel and Spa Ra Beach

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Hotel and Spa Ra Beach

    Després de molts anys de malviure en un estat d'abandó, el Sanatori de Sant Joan de Déu, de Calafell, ha trobat el nou ús que el salva de la ruïna. Amb el naixement de l'Hotel i Spa Ra Beach, allò que s'havia convertit en una baluerna condenada a ser material d'enderroc passa a esdevenir focus de nova activitat i revitalització de l'entorn immediat. La nova construcció embolcalla l'antiga, deixant clara la diferència entre l'obra original i la nova. L'edificació nova es desplega en dues ales en forma d'U, que creixen a cadascun dels costats de l'antic sanatori, i a l'entorn d'unes làmines d'aigua. Aquestes ales, com ho faria un claustre, reben les visites de les habitacions i ho fan a través de terrasses protegides per persianes d'alumini que uniformen la façana interior i que, emmirallades en l'aigua, doblen la visió del conjunt. Per la banda oposada, discorren els corredors d'accés a les estances privades, que, amb façanes molt opaques, s'allunyen de l'entorn me´s immediat mitjançant grans murs recoberts de pedra, sobre els quals apareixen els finestrals, pocs però grans, amb reixa, que permeten la visió cap a l'exterior però que també garanteixen la intimitat interior. Les habitacions més singulars de l'Hotel aprofiten la vàlua espacial de l'arquitectura original. S'ha intervingut sobre l'antic sanatori amb l'exigència i el respecte rigorós per l'obra de Rodríguez Arias, tot enaltint-ne els abundants valors arquitectònics i corregint-ne algunes mancances, per adecuar-lo al nou ús i al cos de la normativa actual. El conjunt desplega una important massa volumètrica: sense sobrepassar mai la cornisa del sanatori, l'obra es produeix en una planta baixa i dos pisos. La dimensió horitzontal, dominant, solament és sobrepassada pels badalots de les escales, el coronament d'algunes instal·lacions tècniques i la piscina coberta de talassoteràpia, que tanquen la coberta de l'edifici a la manera d'un gran vaixell.
  13. Vilella House

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Vilella House

    La casa ocupa un solar d'uns dos mil metres quadrats, de pendent arbrat amb pins, que han estat molt útils per articular la morfologia de l'arquitectura. La visió llunyana de l'horitzó marí de Lloret de Mar, l'entorn, desproveït de caràcter propi, i la forma difícil del solar, tot plegat ens va abocar a una arquitectura d'introspecció. La posició de la casa, al límit superior, va alliberar més espai per al jardí. La casa disposa d'una cuina d'excepcional qualitat, situada en un lloc prominent, al centre, amb sortida a l'exterior i en relació directa amb la taula-menjador. Totes les peces s'articulen al voltant d'aquest espai. Té una sala d'audiovisuals, totalment aïllada de l'exterior, sense claror natural, tancada entre murs de formigó i situada sota el nivell del sòl. La piscina coberta, llarga i estreta a la part de darrere de la casa, satisfà l'afecció i la necessitat de nedar, en silenci, fins i tot en la foscor. La casa té una sola façana operativa, oberta cap a la pineda. L'interior i el jardí es confonen en un mateix escenari. Les grans obertures envidriades dominen tot el nivell inferior, en contacte amb el jardí; en canvi, els tancaments de fusta, amb unes singulars gelosies, proporcionen la intimitat que requereix la planta superior. L'espai exterior, de Manel Colominas, respon a un tractament natural del territori, sense gespa, sense paviments durs i quasi sense murs ni escales. Les escultures metàl·liques, de l'escultor suís-català Carles Valverde, arrodoneixen la intervenció. L'interiorisme de Teresa Ferrín revesteix els murs blancs i els paviments amb una pedra de tons verd gris. El mobiliari elegit resulta així un contrapunt amè, lleuger i elegant.
  14. Sota Muralla Residential Complex

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Sota Muralla Residential Complex

    En el pendent sud-oest del promontori on s'assenteixi la vila de Puigcerdà, s'estenen zones de bosc i prats que actuen de pulmó urbà abans d'arribar a la plana de la vall on la ciutat queda limitada per la via de ferrocarril que condueix a França. En aquest pendent i amb unes magnífiques vistes sobre la serra del Cadí es troba el solar objecte del projecte. La nostra obsessió en manipular la topografia existent perseguia l'objectiu de crear una barrera visual que dissimulés les naus industrials de la zona de l'estació, alhora que servís d'espai comunitari de convivència davant de la façana principal per els usuaris de la promoció. Vam distribuir els 59 habitatges previstos al solar a quatre edificis que s'articulen formant un esglaonament virtual al llarg del vial d'accés. Els edificis estan ubicats en la part més alta a la fi d'obtenir les millors vistes i un bon aprofitament de la superfície, mentre que en la part baixa creix un jardí amb dunes que fan de pantalla davant de la zona industrial. L'arquitectura de cada edifici es defineix amb un doble llenguatge. La part sud (façana principal) està revestida de fusta, material càlid, colorit, que destaca la lleugeresa del cos volat; i la façana nord, s'ha edificat amb una densa i corpòria construcció de pedra col·locada a la usança de la zona. La distribució de la superfície de cada bloc en dos nivells permet trencar l'horitzontalitat de les cobertes i adaptar els accessos a la topografia del jardí. Els soterranis estan ocupats per un generós garatge amb espais trasters annexos, als quals s'accedeix mitjançant rampes parapetades amb acústica entre els edificis per dissimular el trànsit de vehicles. Les tipologies usades en aquesta obra troben el seu espai en una estructura de dues escales per edifici. Hi ha apartaments de dos, tres i quatre dormitoris, dúplex i inclús algun apartament especial per a dues famílies. S'han integrat tipologies diferents a un únic volum edificatori, capacitant així façanes més heterogènies al sud i façanes més rítmiques i repetitives, al nord. La presència de les xemeneies, generoses en nombre i bé visibles per la mida, confereix a l'obra una connotació muntanyenca, igual com les cobertes acabades amb pissarra i els canalons vistos de les façanes. Un projecte que reuneix obligats tocs d'arquitectura vernacla amb altres de volumetria i materials més moderns i menys freqüents en la Cerdanya.
  15. Sitjas House

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Sitjas House

    The house of Calella has been designed from adversity. The suggestive initial assignment proposed us to design a house between partitions, for a single family, in a narrow street in Calella del Maresme. Everything presupposed a good opportunity for architecture, similar to the one Coderch had when he designed the house-workshop of the painter Antoni Tàpies, in a narrow street in Barcelona's Sant Gervasi district. The two houses are located in similar urban plots, densified, with three-storey buildings and narrow façades without much personality. But these apparently optimal circumstances turned into pitfalls as we delved deeper into the jigsaw puzzle of a surprisingly strict municipal regulation. The plot, with two dividers on each side and no patio, only has an eight-metre façade open to the street. This adverse circumstance led our project to close in on itself, to look inward looking for the zenith light and the inner empty space. The regulations allowed us four levels of slabs, undoubtedly too high for a single-family house, and required a gable roof built with ceramic tiles. Fortunately, the functional programme of our clients was quite open and their trust in us did not restrict too much the project speculations that were emerging. We opted for two lines of action that formed the driving ideas of the entire project. The first was the work of foaming the allowed volume, creating a central courtyard that acted as a true place of relationship, a kind of introspective square of reduced size, with a glazed roof and dimmable light intensity. The interior façades, windows, double volumes, walkways and stairs pour over this space, which configure a scenario of family life rich in visual perspectives and complex in its operation. The second axis of action revolved around the segmentation of uses by levels. Each level receives its own, determined and autonomous program. On the first level, which constitutes the pavement of the central volume, we located the community spaces of the home, the kitchen, the dining room, the pantry, the cellar, the toilet and the living room, composed of two rooms: one more collected, more interior, presided over by a fireplace, and the other brighter, more open, on which all the rooms of the house spill out. On the second level we located the parents' bedroom with its dressing room and bathroom. This level is completed with a study room on the other side of the walkway. On the third level, there are the children's bedrooms, their two bathrooms and another specific workspace. Finally, on level 0, which connects to the street, after a wide porch that allows the accesses to be arranged, the garage, the storage rooms, the workshop, the boiler room, the lobby, the elevator and the start of the ladder. This arrangement clearly differentiates two blocks: on the street, all the outbuildings that require immediate ventilation; and on the central void, those others that allow a more deferred lighting and ventilation, more still. Thus, the house is organised into private uses (intimacy), community uses (relationship) and work uses (work). The house - once finished, furnished and lived in - is very bright, cheerful and alternative, full of suggestive interior spaces, views, open rooms and corners. The general interior volume makes using it a constant surprise, especially favoured by the sculptural staircase-passageway-library that runs from top to bottom and across the width of one side of the courtyard. The materials used are reduced to a minimal palette of varieties. Sobriety was essential to assess the volumes, the entrances of light and the interior façades in the courtyard. The white concrete block was used to cover the partition walls, which ensures good insulation (double wall) and a level of finish with an outdoor vocation. To finish the interior façade, we chose the veneer of composite marine board, which allows for cut-out windows and air conditioning outlets. The floors are mostly treated with Merbau floating parquet, and the large, glazed surfaces shade the light with adjustable aluminum slats and rollable Helioscreen awnings. The homogeneous appearance of the furniture, the choice of materials and colours, and above all the design of the specific furniture that make up the architecture, is due to Teresa Ferrín, who has collaborated again with our studio, ensuring a remarkable interior design, essential for a work like this to be assumed as a comprehensible and comfortable whole. The suggestive initial order, as we have explained, has become, after the adversities typical of every project, one of the most rewarding works of recent years. A pleasant house to live in, full of space, emptiness and light.
  16. Ferrer-Bobet Winery

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Ferrer-Bobet Winery

    En una vall retirada i silenciosa entre Porrera i Falset, creixen les vinyes de Ferrer Bobet, una jove firma dels anomenats nous vins del Priorat. Al programa inicial, similar al d'altres cellers de producció semblant, es van afegir altres elements de caràcter pròpiament enològic que van exigir interessants novetats: se'ns demanava que el procés d'elaboració del vi es produís íntegrament per gravetat, sense ajuts mecànics ni sistemes de bombeig. La situació geogràfica, sobre l'eix d'una carena aterrassada, tota voltada de vinyes i amb visió des de 360º, desaconsellava bastir cap altra construcció auxiliar o complementària. Si tot havia de ser vist i no destorbar, doncs, cap punt de visió, l'edifici no podia presentar angles morts. Per tant, des del començament vam plantejar una construcció ancorada en terra que, amb un volum notablement submergit, donés cabuda als espais d'elaboració del vi i a les instal·lacions tècniques, a recer de vistes. Solament el volum superior, en què es disposen els espais d'accés, embotellat i expedició, com també l'àrea de visites, es fa present sobre l'horitzó muntanyós. La plaça de recepció del raïm que articula les diferents maniobres dels vehicles i els primers processos de vinificació és un altre element definidor del projecte. En aquest espai de forta horitzontalitat que contrasta amb els pendents del territori hem projectat un potent element que serveix alhora de contenció de la muntanya i d'annex als accessos a la planta inferior, soterrada, destinada a la vinificació i la guarda de les bótes. Els materials triats havien de servir els principis exposats: capacitat de mimetisme amb el paisatge, usant la pedra local aparellada en sec en els murs en contacte amb la vinya, dinamisme tecnològic en aquells elements volats de forta sol·licitació de càrregues i, finalment, esveltesa i lleugeresa en els tancaments i en el cobriment de l'edifici. El celler funciona com un petit i insòlit vaixell encallat entre vinyes, un objecte que reposa el seu precari equilibri en el paisatge feréstec d'aquest racó amagat del Priorat. Entenem que el temps i l'exuberància geomètrica de la vinya assimilaran al paisatge aquest particular edifici agrícola d'innegable vocació domèstica.
  17. Món Hotel

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Món Hotel

    La decisió de construir un hotel de nova planta en el conjunt del Monestir de Sant Benet de Bages va ser el lògic resultat de la maduració d'un llarg projecte. Des que l'entitat Caixa Manresa va adquirir la propietat del llegendari monument romànic, es van engegar els ressorts econòmics, tècnics i creatius per a ensamblar una complexa i suggeridora idea de revitalitzar no solament l'entorn de Sant Benet sinó una bona part de la comarca del Bages. Caixa Manresa ha capacitat el traspàs d'un antic monestir benedictí d'origen medieval a un emblemàtic complex d'abast encara no previst, projecte anomenat Món Sant Benet. Al voltant del monestir, que s'ha restaurat i ampliat per a usos de museu i centre de congressos, s'aixeca un nou edifici de centre d'acollida i espai de banquets, un centre específic per a la investigació en el camp de l'alimentació, la Fundació Alícia i, finalment, un hotel de quatre estrelles situat al voltant del complex que actua de frontera física i visual en el límit de les edificacions. L'hotel Món està concebut com una peça més de l'entramat edificatori, guardant formes pròpies i usant materials, colors i textures en harmonia amb els de les altres edificacions existents. El projecte s'articula entorn d'un jardí tancat, que té el campanar de l'església com element referencial i guia visual del conjunt. les 89 habitacions obren vistes exclusivament cap aquest espai, a través de terrasses cobertes, i protegides amb persianes d'alumini. Es concep, així, un hotel de simple crugia on totes les habitacions estan bolcades cap a la bona orientació, mentre el corredor d'accés serveix i envolta pel costat contrari. La forma de l'edifici respon a aquesta premissa: aspecte obert, vidriat, actiu a l'orientació sud; façanes tancades, amb perforacions ocasionals i sempre estratègiques en l'orientació nord. El conjunt edificatori descrit es desenvolupa en superfície en tres nivells i en els tres es distribueixen les habitacions. Solament el central, el qual serveix d'accés als clients, disposa d'àmplies zones d'ús públic. Aquí es troba la recepció, salons, cafeteria, bar, restaurant, tots oberts a una àmplia plataforma exterior orientada al monestir. L'aliniació, gairebé indefinida, d'habitacions queda tallada per la forma trencada de la potent volumetria, que forma cossos que s'obren o s'encaixen segons les necessitats i els usos dels nusos d'articulació. Les tres plantes de l'hotel es coronen amb una coberta metàl·lica que recorre una bona part del perímetre facilitant la col·locació d'instal·lacions, extractors, xemeneies, etc. en l'interior, a fi d'evitar la seva presència visual des de l'exterior. L'aliniació trencada de l'hotel té dues excepcions. La fisura que es produeix en la zona del canal, on s'ha projectat un cos vidriat que serveix de menjador gastronòmic i l'esplanada lúdica al voltant de la piscina a l'aire lliure situada en el límit sud-oest del solar. L'austeritat del llenguatge arquitectònic va ser un dels objectius perseguits. L'ús limitat de materials, el color gris, verd i fins i tot negre dels tons escollits i el predomini de la pedra natural en contacte amb el formigó vist confereixen a l'hotel una aparença gairebé monacal, apropiada, al nostre entendre, al monument històric. Els arguments inicials d'adaptació al territori, orientació cap al monestir, imatge sòlida i austera, integració en el paisatge, s'han complert eficaçment. Ara només resta engegar la màquina i adaptar el seu ús a les, de vegades estrictes, exigències de l'arquitectura.
  18. Extension of the Hispania Restaurant

    Espinet/Ubach, Arquitectes i Associats, Miquel Espinet i Mestre, Antoni Ubach i Nuet

    Extension of the Hispania Restaurant

    Since Hispania opened its doors as a restaurant in 1957 - it had been a garage in previous years - 52 years have passed. The Reixach family has run this historic establishment with unprecedented success and its notability has transcended state borders. Today's Hispania is cataloged by the country's main guides as one of the best restaurants in Spain, and the Reixach sisters, the current owners, have been awarded countless prizes and recognitions. Hispania is therefore a monument to gastronomy and as such it is difficult to propose to modify or expand it without losing the magic that half a century of history has conferred on it. For this reason, the task we received to design a deep reform of the premises filled us with concern, for the complexity of the place and for its significance in the history of Catalan cuisine, but also with enthusiasm for what it represented a challenge to intervene profitably and skillfully in a space so full of memories. Surprisingly, the owners let the architects suggest where and how to act, a responsibility that has weighed on the authors until the results have finally been seen and verified. Therefore, we chose a solution that seemed the most neutral to us, which interfered less with the history of the house. And, in an adjoining garden, attached to the façade of the main building, we projected a glass pavilion, light, transparent and aerial, supported by only two points on the base of the garden. The metal structure building is covered by means of a prestressing central truss allowing it to be built in just 3 and a half months thanks to the systems manufactured in the workshop and the use of self-supporting thermochip panels. With total exterior measurements of 16.45 x 5.00 x 3.50m high, the space is configured as a single room connected to the old dining room through a body-belly that acts as a pre-hallway and separates the two spaces, the new and the old. A demanding performance in terms of acoustic behaviour, with the base of ecofont panels and perimeter walls of scratched wood, ensures surprising environmental comfort, which is complemented by other materials such as oak parquet on the floor, fabric roll-up curtains on the perimeter glass and the chairs covered in quality upholstery give the space a sense of well-being that the Hispania customer appreciates. The modular distribution based on mobile auxiliary furniture allows the configuration of the new dining room to be easily varied, while the lighting, programmed by computer, nuances and precisely matches the desired scenarios. The dining room has already come into use and its relationship with the historic room has proven not only compatible but extraordinarily complementary. In fact, it is gaining importance given its round shapes, its bright and comfortable space and its cozy and versatile furniture. The history of Hispania will be able to continue its path without setbacks. Its new dining room will become another chapter that will be written, with admirable vocation, by its owners and masterful cooks, Paquita and Lolita Reixach.

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