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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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.
One-storey building. The façade is divided into three sections - a central section with three doorways and three windows, and two side sections with four openings each. Once up the entrance stairs, we find ourselves in a large atrium, formerly a theatre, which now serves as a hallway leading to the different rooms: library, theatre, café and office. Art Nouveau leaded glass windows above the doors alternate floral representations with allegories of the organisation. The theatre, attributed to the architect Pau Salvat i Espasa, is the most important room. Structurally, it is horseshoe-shaped and consists of a stalls area and two floors. The decorative features include the frieze surrounding the ceiling and the iron railings, designed by the Igualada-born set designer Pere Valls i Bofarull. Outside, the Municipal School of Music is located to the left of the building and the garden is to the right, with a fountain decorated with trencadís mosaic.
The Athenaeum was founded in the heat of the romantic progressivism that was in vogue in Catalonia during the second half of the last century, and its combination of cultural, educational and recreational activities played a fundamental role in spreading progressive ideas and popular culture. After the fire that destroyed the old headquarters in 1873, the current building was constructed in 1877. In the 19th century, it ran a primary school, a theatre and a library. Between 1919 and 1935, the organisation gained momentum with the establishment of a school group linked to the Catalan educational movement, a music conservatory, a weaving school and a sports ground. After 1939, the national forces seized the building and it was renamed the ‘National Centre’.