Winners of the National Culture Award for 2019!
This distinction has been granted 'for [the COAC’s] contribution to the construction of a modern country through architecture and urban planning, from its different regional branches, and for its promotion of this heritage across Catalonia. The particular attention that the COAC has devoted in recent years to its Archive has led to significant donations from most of the country’s architects and urban planners. The diligent custody and dissemination of this technical, urban planning and photographic material has made the COAC’s Historical Archive an essential source of documentation for both national and international architects and historians, which further enhances the prestige of Catalan architecture'.
More than 145 years at the service of architectural culture
The dean of the COAC, Assumpció Puig, highlighted the fact that 'this award recognises the role of architecture in society, especially its cultural dimension, which is often overlooked', and emphasised that 'this award belongs to all our members, thanks to whose support and collaboration we have managed to roll out an intensive cultural programme in the Association’s eleven branches across Catalonia'.
In its more than 145 years of history, the Association has established itself as an institution at the service of architectural culture, placing among its objectives the recovery and dissemination of architects’ legacy, giving a voice to more contemporary forms of architecture, and forging close bonds with other disciplines.
The cultural prestige of the Association is rooted not only in its Historical Archive, Library, Publications Service and awards, but also in its conferences, debates, training activities, exhibitions and numerous collaborations that have taken place over the years.
The Historical Archive, which this year celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, is a European point of reference for architectural studies, with more than two million documents in which the history of our country is recorded. The Library is the second largest in Europe in terms of the number of volumes on architecture, with more than 180,000 references. When it comes to publications, the Association has been behind more than 400 titles, most notably the journal Quaderns d'arquitectura i urbanisme, which has been published since 1944.
The National Culture Awards, the highest cultural distinction in Catalonia
Other recipients of the awards, which will be presented on 4 July at the Artesà Theatre in El Prat de Llobregat, include Maria Bohigas, Jaume Cabré, Federació d'Ateneus de Catalunya, Litterarum Móra d'Ebre, the Museum of Lleida, Josefina Matamoros, Clara Peya, Josep Ponsatí and Carme Ruscalleda.
The National Culture Awards, which have been awarded by the CoNCA since 2009, are the most important distinction in the field of culture in Catalonia. These awards celebrate creativity as a true symbol of a country with a cultural dynamism that sees culture as a constituent part of its personality and historical identity.
The Historical Archive celebrates its 50th anniversary this year
The origins of the Archive
The Historical Archive of the COAC was officially founded in 1969 at the suggestion of architect Oriol Bohigas. The aim was to preserve and study the documented architectural heritage that the Architects’ Association had been safeguarding. The Archive was also intended to help the former Heritage Protection Committee and the Government Board in preparing the proceedings for the conservation of buildings at risk of demolition, as well as publicise this collective work by highlighting the social mission of its task.
A prestigious collection for both Catalonia and Europe
Since then, the Historical Archive has become the leading archive of professional architectural documents on the Iberian Peninsula, not to mention one of the most important in Europe.
In fact, the Historical Archive is the primary point of reference for Catalan architecture: Rationalism cannot be studied without consulting its collections, such as those of GATCPAC, Rodríguez Arias and Torres Clavé; and similarly, any researcher who wants to understand the international facet of Catalan architecture will need to study the work of Bonet Castellana, MBM and Manuel de Solà-Morales. Likewise, Gaudí-ism, with drawings and documents by Gaudí himself and his disciples Jujol, Sugrañes, Puig Boada and Berenguer, all form part of the COAC’s Archive.
A packed programme of activities to celebrate the anniversary
The COAC is preparing a packed programme of activities to celebrate this important anniversary. Most of them will take place in the autumn, including a commemorative exhibition in Plaça Nova, the publication of a monograph featuring drawings from the Archive’s collections, and a series of conferences.
A tribute to the photographic collection on the arquitectes.cat website
The Historical Archive boasts two very important collections of photography, Francesc Català-Roca and Oriol Maspons, as well as other collections. To showcase all these documents, the arquitectes.cat website and the COAC's Instagram profile will be posting images to illustrate news items and other information.
"La ciutat ben temperada. Innovació social a l'habitatge"
L'acte, que es durà a terme el 10 d'abril a les 18.30 h, pren com a punt de referència el llibre de Rose "La ciudad bien temperada". Rose està considerat un dels pensadors nord-americans més importants sobre temes urbanístics, famós per elaborar plans que integren solucions ambientals, socials i econòmiques per donar resposta als problemes que afronten les ciutats.
A banda del vessant teòric, també planifica i construeix, en col·laboració amb administracions locals i organitzacions sense ànim de lucre, habitatges assequibles, així com centres culturals, de salut i educatius.
Precisament de la capacitat de crear comunitats que beneficiïn tant els que hi viuen com al seu entorn en parlarem en aquesta jornada.
18.30 h Presentació a càrrec de Sandra Bestraten, presidenta de la Demarcació de Barcelona
18.40 h Presentació del llibre a càrrec de Jonathan Rose, l'autor.
19.00 h Taula rodona moderada per l'arquitecta Maria Sisternas. Amb la participació de:
- Jonathan F. P. Rose, urbanista i escriptor
- Carmen Mendoza, arquitecta i sotsdirectora de Relacions Internacionals de la UIC Barcelona School of Architecture
- Antoni Sorolla, arquitecte i director de Relacions Institucionals de Sogeviso, empresa del Grup Banc de Sabadell
- Ana Puig Pey, arquitecta i directora del Postgrau en Direcció Immobiliària de l'Escola Sert
Cal inscripció prèvia.
Campus Professional Persax: Noves exigències i solucions de control solar
El proper 16 de maig de 2019, l’empresa Persax celebrarà una jornada tècnica a l’Escola Sert, en el marc del Campus Professional.
La sessió servirà per conèixer diverses solucions relacionades amb les prestacions d'eficiència energètica, el soroll, el control visual, el control de la il·luminació, la seguretat i el disseny. Especialment, s'abordaran les noves exigències del DB HE per als EECN. A més a més, l’empresa també exposarà mostres físiques dels seus productes perquè els assistents els puguin conèixer directament.
La jornada anirà a càrrec de Vicente Castillo Guillén, arquitecte responsable de prescripció i desenvolupament de negoci a PERSAX, qui presentarà les solucions que proposa l'empresa per a la nova normativa mitjançant mostres de producte.
El Campus professional és un espai de relació entre les empreses i institucions del sector i el col·lectiu d'arquitectes. El sector de l'arquitectura és cada vegada més complex i la seva ràpida evolució fa imprescindible la posada al dia dels professionals de l'arquitectura. Amb el Campus Professional es pretén impulsar la competitivitat, la producció i eficiència del sector a través d'activitats plantejades amb aquesta finalitat.
Recupera la jornada en vídeo: