The COAC’s Historical Archive loans photos by Català-Roca for an exhibition on Miró in Paris
The Grand Palais in Paris is holding the biggest retrospective on the Catalan artist Joan Miró since 1974, entitled simply 'Miró'. In addition to the 150 paintings sourced from all over the world that chart the painter’s evolution—from Cubism to Surrealism—there will be a number of photographs featuring Miró taken by his unconditional friend, the photographer Francesc Català-Roca.
The COAC’s Historical Archive has loaned several photographs from its Català-Roca collection to illustrate the Catalan artist’s work, which will be on show at the exhibition as well as featured in various publications associated with it.
The exhibition will feature a large display panel of 280 x 350 cm, plus three smaller ones, portraying Miró in the studio that the architect Josep Lluís Sert designed for him, as well as other photos. There will also be 20 photos by Català-Roca in the exhibition catalogue and a smaller selection in another four publications associated with the exhibition: L’Album, Dictionnaire Miró, Collection Cartels and Livre Jeunesse.
The COAC’s Archive has also loaned 20 images and various 4-5 minute clips from films by Català-Roca for the documentary Joan Miró, le feu intérieur (Joan Miró, The inner fire), co-produced by TV3, which will be screened several times between October and January. The film can also be purchased as a DVD and is planned to be broadcast on French television in the coming months.
Having met in 1953, Miró and Català-Roca maintained a close friendship for 30 years, during which the painter allowed the photographer to record some intimate moments from his life.
The exhibition will be on show at the Grand Palais in Paris until 4 February 2019.
The stairway to the Saxhóll crater wins the Rosa Barba International Landscape Award
Reducing the damage caused by visitors
The 45-metre-high Saxhóll volcano rises out of the moss-covered lava fields of the National Park of Snæfellsjökull in Iceland. The hill is a popular destination as it provides excellent views of the endless lava field, the Atlantic Ocean in the distance and the picturesque Snæfellsjökull glacier. The walk to the top of Saxhóll follows a path that has been laid down over the years by its visitors. The increase in visitor numbers in the last few years has started to make itself felt: the slopes and vegetation of the hillsides have started to become damaged and the path to the top has branched off into winding parallel tracks. For this reason, in 2014 it was decided to take action to prevent any further damage to the landscape.
The stairway to heaven and hell
The team at Landslag ehf and architect Þráinn Hauksson designed a black steel stairway that follows the route of the original path. The project was completed in 2016 and the black steel quickly oxidized to blend in with the reddish shades of the volcanic crater and the Arctic/Alpine vegetation. The end result has proved very popular with visitors, who often refer to the route social media as the 'stairway to heaven'.
The project was selected for three awards in 2017: the Nordic Architecture Fair Award in Gothenfurt, the Island Design Awards, and the DV Reykjavík Cultural Awards in Iceland.
Rosa Barba International Landscape Award
As part of the International Landscape Biennial organized by the Architects’ Association of Catalonia and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (UPC), the prestigious Rosa Barba International Award recognizes the best landscape projects undertaken around the world. The Award, with an endowment of 15,000 euros, enjoys the support of the Banc de Sabadell Foundation.
For further information please visit the website of the International Biennial of Landscape Architecture.
Eight original documents on Gaudí’s work exhibited at the Het Schip Museum in Amsterdam
Seven photographs and a plan, all originals, of some of the most significant works by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, loaned by the Historical Archive of the COAC, will be on display until 1 April 2019 in an exhibition that aims to showcase the similarities between Gaudí and the Amsterdam School. The exhibition includes a drawing of the façade of Barcelona Cathedral by Gaudí, finished by Domènech i Montaner, and other illustrations and photographs of such iconic buildings as Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, the Sagrada Família, Teresianes Convent and Palau Güell.
The documents come mainly from the collections of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia and the Joan Martorell collection, which currently belongs to the COAC’s Historical Archive. The Archive, which boasts more than 2,000,000 documents, loans documents for exhibitions and shows with the aim of showcasing the architects who form part of its collections and their work.
For further information, please visit the website of the Het Schip Museum.
Instal·lació LightCode
Amb un extrem en una ciutat portuària -Barcelona, el projecte envia el codi del senyal marítim amb balises, semàfors, amb els quals els vaixells assenyalen la seva presència i transmeten missatges remots. Així doncs, amb l'ajuda de Barcelona, Bucarest es converteix en un port mediterrani i, en sentit contrari, Barcelona es converteix en una presència propera a Dambovita. Les dues instal·lacions lleugeres transmeten estats dels carrers de Bucarest i Barcelona, i s'incorporen així als esdeveniments urbans quotidians com a vincles amb l'alteritat. Parlant de sistemes de comunicació lleugers i nous i transformant-los en un pretext per a la participació i el coneixement, LightCode crea experiències urbanes sense precedents, que suposen noves possibilitats per a la ciutat i els seus habitants.
LightCode Barcelona: COAC - Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya, Plaça Nova 5
LightCode București: Cărturești Modul Bookshop, Str. Academiei no. 18-20 (portico UAUIMB)
És un projecte de Zeppelin Association amb Modulab i compta amb la colaboració del COAC, el BAC - Barcelona Architecture Center i la Cărturești Modul Bookshop. Està co-finançat per l'AFCN (Administration of the National Cultural Fund).
La instal·lació LightCode es podrà veure del 22 d'octubre al 22 de novembre al COAC.
El 5 de novembre es realitzarà la conferència 3XPERIENCE en el marc de la instal.lació.
