The Sert School launches its new website
The website has been designed so users can find detailed information on courses and master's degree and postgraduate programmes easily, with filter options by subject and location and recommendations on other training courses of interest. The registration process has also been simplified, as have queries by teaching staff and the course programmes.
The teaching staff – one of the school’s most important assets
The Sert School stands out for its faculty of practising professionals with consolidated career experience. For this reason, the new portal has a space that highlights this factor with information on their curricula. You can also consult the projects realised by the master's degree and postgraduate students at the school.
A website aimed at companies too
Every year the school organises dozens of technical seminars given by companies that specialise in relevant subjects. The new website also has a space for these companies, where they will find all the information they need to organise these seminars for architects, as well as obtaining additional information about in-house training. The site reflects the Sert School’s commitment to the business-student-school triangle and to facilitating knowledge transfer and networking.
The COAC receives the National Culture Award
On Thursday 4 July, the Architects’ Association of Catalonia was presented with the National Culture Award, given by the National Council for Culture and the Arts (CoNCA). The gala event was held in Teatre l’Artesà in El Prat de Llobregat.
The dean of the COAC, Assumpció Puig, said on receiving the award, that “this recognition validates all the cultural actions that we have undertaken throughout the Association’s history to raise the profile of the values and profession of architecture in society”. Puig also lauded “the Historical Archive, which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary; the Library, which is the second largest in Europe in terms of the number of books on architecture; and the dedicated work of our eleven branches”.
The awards were announced on 20 March and the CoNCA highlighted the work of the COAC in championing the architectural assets and heritage of the whole of Catalonia. Indeed, the work of the COAC’s Archive in the “meticulous stewardship and dissemination of technical, urban planning and photographic material” has made it an important documentation centre for architects and historians that “further enhances the prestige of Catalan architecture”.
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.
The event was attended by the President of the Government of Catalonia, Quim Torra, the Minister for Culture, Mariàngela Vilallonga, the Mayor of El Prat de Llobregat, Lluís Mijoler, and the President of the CoNCA, Carles Duarte. The actor Pep Cruz was responsible for presenting the ceremony, produced by Dagoll Dagom, which also featured performances by Alfred Garcia, Les Impuxibles, Roberto G. Alonso and Carme Canela.
The National Culture Awards
The National Culture Awards, which have been given by the CoNCA since 2009, are the most important distinction in the field of culture in Catalonia and recognise the track record and talent of four organisations and six individuals. The awards recognise individuals and groups who have contributed to raising the profile of Catalan culture, either through their intellectual or artistic work or in extolling our shared identity.
Apart from the COAC, the event also served to recognise the achievements of Maria Bohigas, Jaume Cabré, Federació d'Ateneus de Catalunya, Litterarum Móra d'Ebre, Museu de Lleida, Josefina Matamoros, Clara Peya, Josep Ponsatí and Carme Ruscalleda.
Slight growth in construction, but based on an unsustainable model
Resolving shortfalls in terms of accessibility, insulation and energy efficiency – which affect people’s health and well-being – is still the greatest challenge in a country where 40% of its building stock is more than 50 years old, and in the context of a climate change that calls for determined action from the construction sector as well.
On 9 July, the COAC invited the press to a meeting to analyse the construction and building renovation situation in Catalonia in the first six-month period, based on a comparison of construction figures with the same period last year.
Analysis of the authorised building area in Catalonia
The first six months of 2019 closed with an authorised building area of 2,375,135 m2, 124,642 m2 more than the same period in 2018. It is worth noting the following:
1. Year-on-year growth is low. It has dropped by almost half, currently standing at 5.5%. In previous years, the biggest projects (more than 10,000 m2) were mainly responsible for the increase in the authorised building area. This has not been the case in the past six months.
2. Small and medium-sized projects are gaining ground. If this is consolidated in the coming months, it could point to more structural growth for both the profession and the sector. Some 4,691 projects have been authorised, a rise of 8%. Of these, 35 are large projects, 7% less in terms of land area than the same six-month period last year (almost all of which are new build, with just 2% of this area accounted for by building renovation).
3. New build is the big protagonist, having risen by 10.5%. On the other hand, building renovation continues to decline, by 8.2%. It is obvious that the better the figures for new build, the worse it is for major renovation work, and this is an alarming trend.
4. Growth is not evenly spread throughout the region. The general figures are up, apart from the province of Girona and the city of Barcelona.
Analysis by type: new build vs building renovation
New build has grown by 10.5% and an area of 1,772,983 m2 has been authorised for building. Both the number of projects and the surface area have increased.
In terms of major renovation works, the figures are still negative. Renovation work only accounts for 24% of the authorised building land in Catalonia. Regionally, the figures have dropped overall apart from Girona and the metropolitan area of Barcelona (not including the capital).
To conclude, the figures show that major building renovation has been losing ground continuously since 2017, in contrast to the trend for new build projects.
Analysis by use: residential/non-residential
In terms of residential construction, the authorised area has grown by 2.8%. Non-residential construction has risen by 12.7%, mainly for retail and office buildings (other sectors have declined).
Housing projects
We should reiterate the fact that housing currently accounts for 70% of all building work in Catalonia, mainly new build (with building renovation projects falling by 15%).
The 1,664,109 m2 of land authorised for building corresponds to 7,866 new dwellings (an average of 2.1 dwellings per thousand inhabitants). This growth is concentrated in small projects, while larger developments have declined.
In regional terms, the biggest drop has been in the city of Barcelona (-47%). Tarragona has grown by 85%, a similar situation to last year. The growth in Lleida and Terres de l'Ebre corresponds to a few very large projects. The rest of the province of Barcelona shows growth of 10%, while Girona and the central counties have dropped by around 12%.
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Fallece el arquitecto Joaquim Maria Casamor
Casamor estudió arquitectura en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona, donde se tituló en 1948. El año 1954 entró a formar parte de la Junta de Gobierno del Colegio de Arquitectos como vicesecretario cuando Manuel de Solà-Morales de Rosselló era decano (1954-1964).
Su carrera queda ligada al espacio público urbano de Barcelona, del cual se ocupó ampliamente. El año 1955 entró a trabajar en el departamento de Parques y jardines del consistorio, y el 1968 fue nombrado director, cargo que ocupó hasta su jubilación, en 1986.
Casamor se ocupó del diseño de buena parte de los jardines de la ciudad, destacando los jardines de Montjuic. También fue el responsable del diseño de parques como el de Putxet, la Guineueta o Vil·la Amèlia y restauró otros, como el Parque del Laberinto de Horta, el Parque de las Aguas y el del Turó de la Peira. Así mismo, también fue el responsable de la ejecución del proyecto de Nicolau Rubió i Tudurí para la Plaza Gaudí.
El año 2000, Casamor donó su archivo profesional al Archivo Histórico del COAC.
Descanse en paz.