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Historical Archive which, thanks to its documental richness, provides a large amount of valuable –and in some cases unpublished– graphic documentation.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 façade facing Passeig de Colom is the more recent of the two, dating from approximately the first decade of the twentieth century. It comprises a ground floor, principal floor and four upper storeys.
At street level, the façade is organised around five openings: a central entrance doorway flanked by openings originally serving commercial premises. The entire ground floor is treated with rusticated masonry rendered in imitation ashlar of varying sizes, set above a plinth. The main entrance takes the form of a segmental arch, whose jambs are enriched with a frieze of floral reliefs. A prominent keystone functions as a corbel, a feature shared by the neighbouring openings, which are framed within semicircular arches. Relief carvings of vegetal motifs also appear at the springing line of the arches.
On the principal floor, all six balconies are linked by an openwork stone balustrade that continues the naturalistic decorative language established below. Similar motifs reappear in the wrought-iron railings of the upper storeys. The balconies are distinguished by carved vegetal tracery incorporated above each opening, while small stone flowers occupy positions traditionally reserved for corbels.
On the first floor, the stone balustrade is retained only on the two central balconies. The remaining openings are connected by continuous wrought-iron railings displaying finely crafted floral and foliate motifs with intertwined stems. The upper floors introduce only minor variations, with each opening becoming an individual balcony enclosed by its own railing. On the top floor, stone ornamentation disappears entirely and the wrought-iron balconies project less prominently from the façade.
The crowning element is the façade’s most distinctive feature. A composition of semicircular forms decorated with relief carving conceals a wrought-iron balustrade behind. At its centre rises a curvilinear gable, beneath which is an elaborate ensemble of naturalistic sculptural decoration.
The elevation is vertically organised into three bays separated by pilasters finished with stucco rustication imitating ashlar masonry. The central bay corresponds to the gable described above.
Internally, the building retains a coffered timber ceiling and a segmental arch that marks the entrance vestibule. The vestibule itself is finished in marble, with capitals and decorative bosses highlighted with gilded detailing. Marble is also employed in the dado running around the walls, composed of three different varieties of stone. At one end stands the concierge’s lodge, crafted entirely in carved timber and enclosed with glazed panels.
The second façade, facing Carrer de la Mercè, was constructed in the late nineteenth century. In contrast to the Passeig de Colom elevation, it is notably restrained and sober in character. It comprises a ground floor, principal floor and three upper storeys.
The ground-floor openings, framed by moulded segmental arches, are enclosed by iron grilles embellished with decorative wrought-iron work depicting flowers and foliage. Corresponding to the openings below, each floor contains five balconies. Only those on the principal floor are connected by a continuous wrought-iron railing; the upper levels consist of individual balconies, each enclosed by its own wrought-iron balustrade.
Unlike the Passeig de Colom façade, this elevation is not terminated by an elaborate crowning feature. Instead, it concludes with a simple and austere horizontal roofline, reinforcing its more restrained architectural character.