Final Exhibition

Biblioteca de Jaume Fuster

Biblioteca de Jaume Fuster
2001-2005
Presented by Chris Legatt

Designed by Josep Llinas and Joan Vera in Barcelona, the Jaume Fuster Library was awarded the 2006 FAD Architecture Prize, the most prestigious contemporary design prize to receive in Spain. The project was honored for its delicate implantation in the urban context and the way it opens up new perspectives on the plaza on which it is situated. The expressive volume of the exterior and de abundance of its interiors is richly appreciated. It is one of the most modern and biggest public libraries of the city with an auditorium, amphitheatre, exposition room and special kids-spaces. According to the magazine Descobrir Catalunya the Jaume Fuster library, the Gas Natural headquarters, the Fórum building and the Torre Agbar by Jean Nouvel are some of the new symbols of Barcelona architecture. Even though this public project is highly praised, some critics do say that "the human scale of the irregularly faceted library seems out of step with its urban context". Llinas work forcuses on what has been described as the permanent renunciation of the finished and rounded architectural object. When describing the internal environment Llinas recalls how light and sounds were prioritized in order to balance transmission between areas with natural and artificial light.

Centre Internacional de Convencions de Barcelona

Centre Internacional de Convencions de Barcelona
2000-2004
Presented by Michael Vetter

This is one on the largest Convention Centres in Europe, capable of accommodating 15,000 delegates in an architecturally innovative space facing onto the Barcelona coastline. The main hall in the building is at once structure and abstraction; the outside block speaks to the sea and the sky. The flows, of people and less diverse flows, the forms and the architecture which appears and often disappears among them.

Edifici Fòrum

Edifici Fòrum
2001-2004
Presented by Melissa Trueblood

The 2004 Forum Building was designed by the Swiss architects Jaques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. It was considered by some to be the icon for the "new Barcelona". Controversial is another term used to describe the Forum Building. It is a triangular building measuring 180 meters on each side and 25 meters tall. The blue concrete triangular building was designed to resemble a sponge that is saturated with water blending into the sky and Mediterranean Sea. The structure is lifted off the ground creating a permeable public space where the entrances are located. The way in which the series of courtyards intersects creates unique views and sunlight patterns upon the site. As well as, each courtyard has a different amount of reflective material in them to enhance the sun patterns and experience at ground level. The exterior glazing reflects the sky linking the water covered roof with the water -like soffit below. Water flowing from the roof keeps the roof cool during the hot Barcelonan summers. Located in the blue triangle is the exhibition space, and below grade level is an auditorium space that can seat 3,200 people. This building is a great addition to Barcelona and its cultural influences.

Torre Agbar

Torre Agbar
1999-2004
Presented by Alexander Engle

The Torre Agbar, or Agbar Tower is a contemporary high rise located in the Poblenou neighborhood of Barcelona. The Tower was designed by the French Architect Jean Nouvel, and was completed in 2004. The Building’s inauguration was held September 26th, 2005 and was attended by both the King and Queen of Spain.
Nouvel drew inspiration from Montseraat, a mountain near barcelona, and from a geyser shooting into the air. The building is the third tallest in Barcelona standing at 474 ft. The tower is named after the Agbar Group a major company in Barcelona. The tower houses the company’s offices, and also features conference spaces and a restaurant.
One of the most defining features of the building is it’s facade, which contains over 4,500 LED lights that illuminate the facade in red, blue, pink and yellow. The tower also employs sustainable technology with temperature sensors that adjust the glass blinds on the building’s exterior to control air cooling, and reduce the need for air conditioning.

Mercat de Santa Caterina

Mercat de Santa Caterina
1997-2004
Presented by Fernando Bales

Built on the site of a monastery believed to have begun in 1241, this market was a project taken on by the firm of Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue. The focus of the project was to rejuvenate the neighbourhood of Ciutat Vella. A site that had become too congested and in dire need of a renovation.
The market has three floors including loading docks underground and a organic waste depository for the Santa Caterina and La Ribera neighborhoods.
The waving roof becomes like upturned boats held up by massive steel beams that resemble tree like structures. The colorful rooftop was designed to give the future residents of the adjacent buildings something more than just another rooftop to look at.
The sensitivity that the Architects had towards not only their building but the affects that their Architecture would have on the citizens is something to be admired.

Fort Pienc Street Block

Fort Pienc Street Block
2001-2003
Presented by Marcie Franklund

An irregular triangle shaped block in the l’Eixample was transformed in 2003 by Joseph Llinas. The block is bordered by the streets Ali Bei, Sardenya, Sicília and Ribes. A market, primary school, library, and civic center occupy the ground level. The upper floors are comprised of student and elderly housing.
The design for the residences is based on the ideas of calmness, simplicity and ample open space. The units, elevated and turned inward from the street, provide an escape from the busy city below. The interior courtyard provides a link for the many activities and uses supported by the complex.
Circulation throughout the site was inspired by the natural movement observed from both pedestrians and vehicles moving across. The movement flows seamlessly from outside to inside; relating the routes of movement.
The variety of building uses link smoothly together as a result of Llinas’s use of consistent elements of light and rhythm throughout the site.

Torre de Gas Natural

Torre de Gas Natural
1995
Presented by Thomas Adamietz

The area around this site is quite unique in the sense that it is located in a housing district with smaller buildings in the area, not a high rise skyline. To address this the building is broke down into four volumes addressing singularity and establish a dialogue with the elements around it such as the housing district, the twin towers and the freeway. The glass façade reflects each part of the building into each other and picks up the shadows of its neighbors in an interplay of reflections that seems to have the building weave together and dematerialize its edges. The façade is made of 5 different types of glass as to distort and discolor the surroundings reflecting upon so that it would disappear into the fabric of the city and the sky.

Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona

Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona
1988-1995
Presented by Michael Vetter

Located in an area that was previously a monastic enclave, this museum establishes a rigorous dialogue between the area’s historic urban fabric and the contemporary art within. The nature of the site’s existing paths and routes is reflected in the building’s organization, most notably in the main entry, which is paralleled by a pedestrian passageway between the museum’s public Sculpture Garden and a newly created plaza in front of the Museum, the Placa dels Angels. This paseo joins the existing pedestrian network running through the old city.

Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona

Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
1991-1994
Presented by Kara Braaten

In 1989, the councils of Barcelona set up the Barcelona Centre for Contemporary Culture. The architects Helio Piñón and Albert Viaplana, along with Ricard Mercadé, were commissioned for the renovation of this historic building and courtyard, which once housed the Conciliar Seminary and Casa de Caritat but had been vacant for the past 30 years. Work began on the 15,000 m2 modern arts centre in 1991 and was completed in 1993, officially opening in February 1994. The major design element consists of a mirror-like façade which replaced the north wall of the courtyard. This façade is entirely glazed, split in half visually with two shades of glazing, one half slightly darker than the other. The glazing moves vertical reaching the height of the existing wings and then reaches beyond, bending forward, suggesting a covering gesture. However, its the reflections that truly make this courtyard special. This façade reflects the existing historic wings, bringing back references to the past of the building. The mirador above reflects the urban landscape of the city into the courtyard below, showing how important Barcelona is to this space. Today, the CCCB is one of the most visited museums in Barcelona, hosting temporary exhibitions, cinema, concerts, and other cultural events.

Vila Olimpica

Vila Olimpica
1989-1992
Presented by Mathias Fitzer

After winning the bid to host the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, Barcelona needed to construct a number of new facilities to house athletes, competitions, and accommodations for spectators. At the same time, the city desired a stronger connection to the sea and new business opportunities. The firm Martorell, Bohigas, and Mackay designed the master plan for the project, which was to host both the temporary functions of the Olympic Games as well as the permanent functions of a city. The architectural centerpiece of the final design is "twin" towers with a shopping center, restaurants, a casino, and a fish sculpture by Frank Gehry at their base. One tower is a concrete office building and the other is a steel-framed hotel, and both are the tallest buildings in Spain. The project also encompasses many blocks of residential structures, which served as housing for athletes during the games and were sold as apartments afterward. The beaches of Barcelona were expanded, bringing more people to the sea and increasing economic activity in the neighborhood. Some athletic facilities were built along the beach, which are used today as public recreation facilities. This project was highly successful in hosting the Olympic Games and created a new neighborhood in the city that connects it to the sea.

Torre de Comunicacions

Torre de Comunicacions
1991
Presented by Amanda Kohn

Right beside the Palau Sant Jordi stands Monjuic’s communication tower by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Although not part of the original plan for the ring, the Telefónica company constructed the tower from 1989-1991 to broadcast coverage of the games. At 150 meters tall, its unique circular platform encloses the microwave dishes, replacing the normal clutter of the satellites with a serene, white arch. It is composed of steel and concrete with a base in recognition of Gaudi. The tower ascends at the same angle as the earth’s axis causing its center needle to act as a sundial on the surrounding plaza. The design is based on a sketch of a kneeling figure making an offering and is reminiscent of an athlete receiving their medal or the Olympic torch. Today it has become an important landmark to Montjuic and surrounding Barcelona.

Palau Sant Jordi

Palau Sant Jordi
1988-1990
Presented by Amanda Kohn

When the Olympics came to Barcelona in 1992, Montjuic gained several new buildings, not the least of which was the Palau Sant Jordi, or Saint George’s Palace. Designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki in 1990, the stadium, intended for the gymnastics competition, holds up to 20,000 people. It has been used for everything from swimming competitions to big name music concerts. The floor is a simple concrete oval with a connecting auxiliary pavilion. The structure is concrete clad with traditional materials such as ceramics. Every corner has a white portico in alliance with the design by the Olympic Ring Designers Correa and Milá. The crown of the building is the turtle shell roof. It is a concave, non-symmetrical dome, designed by Japanese engineer Mamoru Kawaguchi. This pantadome, constructed of more than 1500 spheres, 3200 bars, and 600,000 metal-gray sandstone tiles, was assembled on the ground then lifted to its current height of 45 meters using cranes and hydraulic lifts. The lifting process itself took ten days to complete. The Palau’s unique skylights and versatility make it the true gem of the Olympic ring even today.

Pont Felip II-Bac de Roda Bridge

Pont Felip II-Bac de Roda Bridge
1986-1987
Presented by Micah Deitz

After regenerating the urban fabric of the city coinciding with Barcelona’s preparations for the candidature for the 1992 Olympic Games, the city started building bigger projects. It is said that the Bac de Roda Bridge was the starting point for all bigger inerventions. The steel and concrete bridge, with its twin, pristine white, inclined and split arches, helped to unite two working-class districts at the northern part of the city that were separated by train tracks. Still, what the City Council wanted was something more than just a bridge, they wanted a symbol or an icon of Barcelona. Calatrava, though he had never built a bridge before, was chosen for the new structure. People who know about bridges say that it is much more complex than what would have been necessary -like many other Calatrava bridges around the world- but the real purpose of the project, its social impact, succeeded and the bridge became an emblem of the pre-Olympic architecture of the city. It won the FAD Prize in 1987 in the category of Architecture (the first time an engineering work won this prize) and was a finalist for the I Mies van der Rohe Pavilion Award for European Architecture in 1988.

Moll de la Fusta-Paseo de Colón

Moll de la Fusta-Paseo de Colón
1983-1987
Presented by John Holten

The Moll de la Fusta is a name given to a stretch of port boardwalk that reaches from Portal de la Pau and the Plaça d’Antoni Lòpez. The Moll de Bosch i Alsina, which runs directly parallel, is linked to it by two railroad bridges and has been turned into a spacious promenade with seats, restaurants and an underground parking lot. This diverse and encompassing area was designed by Ignasi Solà-Morales Rubió; It has been an ever-changing stretch of land that serves as a border of the city and the sea.
Ignasi Solà-Morales Rubió was professor of Architectural Composition at the Higher Technical School of Architecture in Barcelona. He also taught at the universities of Princeton, Columbia, Turin, and Cambridge, among others. Ignasi Solà-Morales is also commissioned with the reconstruction of the German Pavilion of the International Barcelona Exhibition of 1929, and the reconstruction and expansion of the Liceo Theatre, also in Barcelona.
The initial draft proposed the conversion of an important and historical port combined with a new structure capable of solving the local traffic demands. The major obstacle was to avoid the formation of a road barrier between the city and the sea.

Plaça Països Catalans

Plaça Països Catalans
1981-1983
Presented by Mathias Fitzer

This plaza, by Enric Miralles, Helio Pinon, and Albert Vaiplana, was the first major public space project after the Franco era and was intended to erase negative association with the late dictator. Many critics will say that, by doing so, it has erased all association with anything. The Project for Public Spaces lists this plaza on their Hall of Shame, calling it an "empty, useless disaster of a space." A description of the elements that make up the plaza are "fountains that bring to mind rows of stylized dripping faucets; tables and seating suitable for a post-apocalyptic picnic; a covered walkway that offers no protection from sun and rain; nighttime lighting so bright it could foil prison escapes." However, where the plaza fails, one could say it also succeeds. The plaza sits as an entrance to the city from the Sants train station, whose train platforms are concealed beneath its surface. Its emptiness offers a break between the stress of traveling and the activity of the city, just like it offers a break between the architecture of the Franco dictatorship and the more democratic architecture of the present. Its current state is run-down and a majority of its patrons are on skateboards, but the plaza serves its purpose as a release of pressure in both a historical context and from the perspective of a traveler.

CEAC Fundació Joan Miró

CEAC Fundació Joan Miró
1972-1975
Presented by Amanda Kohn

On Montjuic in Barcelona, just a short walk from the site of the 1992 olympics lays the Fundació Joan Miró. It was designed in the 1960’s by Miró’s close friend Josep Lluís Sert. Miró donated his own work on the condition that the museum not become a mausoleum for him but an open space for creative investigation. The Centre d’Estudis d’Arte Contemporani, as it is formaly known, opened on June 10th, 1975. The architecture is a reflection of Mediterranean design in a rationalist style. The different spaces are organized around two central patios and uses Sert’s characteristic skylights to indirectly illuminate the plain white walls. Diffused light in the exhibition floats through the barrel vaulted ceilings. Direct light on the roof terraces shows off Miró’s sculpture and frames views of the city, and compressed light in the basement room offers a space for young artists to experiment with their art. An octagonal tower, resembling a gothic bell tower, interrupts the regularity of the floor plan and holds an auditorium, library, and exhibition spaces. Additions to the building were made in 1988 and 2001 by Jaume Freixa, a pupil of Sert. Today it holds one of the largest collections of Miró’s work, as well as an everchaging temporary exhibit. It is a space of Catalán and artistic pride for the city of Barcelona.

Walden 7

Walden 7
1970-1975
Presented by John Holten

The complex known as "Walden 7" was constructed in 1974 under the design specifications of Ricardo Bofill and his firm Taller de Arquitectura. Ricardo is a Barcelona native born in 1939; he studied architecture in Geneva Switzerland where he received his philosophical insight to design. The Taller de Arquitectura started design work on Walden 7 in 1970.
This project came about for a number of reasons based in historical events coinciding. The first is the site; Walden 7 is nestled among remains of a disused cement factory. Second was the dictatorship of General Franco. The city of Barcelona was growing in size and needed a place to expand. The nearby suburb of Sant Just Devern was the perfect location. The stage was set for Walden 7. The main buildings of Walden 7 get their interesting shape from the design and construction. The two towers are composed of 1,100 cubes measuring 5.3 meters (two floor heights). These are stacked 8 high corbelling first out and then in to create unique shape of the buildings. This stack effect creates walkways on the interior and then on the exterior as they stack inward. This unfolds to reveal a 3-d labyrinth of walkways, stairwells, and paths that are named like city streets.

Pavelló Alemany

Pavelló Alemany
1929
Presented by Maria Sauvageau

The Barcelona Pavilion was designed by Mies van der Rohe. It was constructed between 1928 and 1929, and was opened on May 27, 1929. It was created for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona. It was subsequently demolished in 1930, at the conclusion of the exposition. It was reconstructed though in 1959, staying true to the original design and site.
The Pavilion is constructed of 8 steel posts, one flat roof, curtain glass walling, and partition walls which are created from different types of marble, such as onyx, green marble, and travertine. The Barcelona Chair within was created specifically for this Pavilion.
His design ideas were based on an intention to pioneer a new sort of design which complimented the new materials and abilities particular to the age he found himself in. Mies strived for a simplification of form in his designs, which eliminated all ornament.
This Pavilion is therefore one of his best examples of simplicity and clarity. Every piece is placed in a particular way, one in which always serves more than one purpose. Planes seem to slide past each other, jutting the visitor from one space into the next.

Temple de la Sagrada Familia

Temple de la Sagrada Familia
1884-1926
Presented by Jon Thomas

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