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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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 Relámpago House is a project that speaks to one of our greatest fascinations in space exploration: morphology and colour approached through fantasy. We took as our point of departure the remarkable story of a lightning bolt that struck the house years ago, using it as the source of inspiration for the project.
The principal aim of this renovation was to create a distinct architectural experience, far removed from the anonymous interiors to which we have become accustomed. We approached this challenge through a zigzagging geometric layout that shapes the different rooms of the house. Angular forms and lines flow into one another, creating a striking visual and spatial effect.
Beyond the morphology of the space itself, we believe that colour is a fundamental element in achieving a stimulating aesthetic that departs from convention. We chose to work with a broad palette of colours, strategically applied across the various planes and volumes of the house. This vibrant palette allowed us to emphasise form and mass, generating a surprising and immersive atmosphere. In doing so, we challenged our client’s habitual perception of domestic space, encouraging a renewed awareness of everyday life within the interior.
With this project, we seek to reaffirm architecture as a form of artistic and emotional expression, liberated from the monotony of daily life. The Lightning House invites its inhabitants to experience, explore, and inhabit space in unexpected ways. It excites us to think that, through this particular visual language, we might inspire a different way of seeing — one in which imagination and desire become central to the creation of emotion within the interior life of a 50-square-metre home.
h3o architects, Joan Gener, Adrià Orriols Camps, Miquel Ruiz Planella

h3o architects, Joan Gener, Adrià Orriols Camps, Miquel Ruiz Planella