COL·LEGI D’ARQUITECTES DE CATALUNYA 1874-1962 Enric Granell, Antoni Ramon The author of the cover photograph is Klaus Erik Halmburger. Thanks to the donation of Enric Granell, it forms part of the Historical Archive of the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya. This book is published at a time of crisis when it is useful to look back at our history and review the role played by the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (Architects’ Institute of Catalonia) at other, equally difficult moments and to see how, in its support to architects as a body, the COAC has been able to evolve by adapting to new situations. It is also positive to see how some constants of the COAC and, by extension, of Catalan architects, have continued throughout inevitable changes. These are values such as the will to undertake the responsibility for constructing a quality environment for our fellow citizens, with social and cultural commitment, incorporating the requirements and needs produced by the rapid transformation of lifestyles and technological means. Since 1874, first the Associació d’Arquitectes de Catalunya and then the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya have brought together the architectural profession, becoming its public representative and a link between citizens, professionals and architecture. With the opening of the building in Barcelona’s Plaça Nova, 50 years ago now, these roles acquired a new dimension. Today, at a time of far-reaching global change, the objectives remain the same, and we continue with our search for new ways to make them reality. Lluís Comerón President of the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC) FOREWORD 9 01 ARCHITECTS AND GENTLEMEN 13 02 BANQUETS, EXCURSIONS AND MONOGRAPHS 23 03 THE ASSOCIATION AND THE FIRST “NATIONAL CONGRESSES” 41 04 JOURNALS PUBLISHED BY THE ARCHITECTS’ ASSOCIATION OF CATALONIA 53 05 AWARDS TO MODERNISTA BARCELONA 63 06 NOUCENTISME: URBAN REFORM AND FACILITIES 77 07 LA CIUTAT & LA CASA AND GASETA DE LES ARTS 93 08 TOWARDS THE CREATION OF THE COAC 105 09 THE YEARS OF COEXISTENCE 115 10 ARQUITECTURA i URBANISME 131 11 FROM GENTLEMEN TO COLLEAGUES: 143 THE ARCHITECTS' UNION OF CATALONIA 12 THE “YEAR OF VICTORY” AND THE PURGES 163 13 CUADERNOS DE ARQUITECTURA (1944-1949) 177 14 THE INSTITUTE: THE INTRODUCER OF INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE CULTURE 189 15 THE NEW HEAD OFFICE OF THE INSTITUTE: FROM THE FIRST COMPETITION TO THE OPENING 203 FOREWORD The authors of histories of architecture tend to overlook the role played by its institutions. They do not feature in accounts of ancient history because they have left no documentary traces of their existence, or because no one has been able to find them. Their absence in modern versions is perhaps because the most obvious things go unnoticed. It is also true that many histories centre on famous names and their works. But these figures are set in a landscape; the individual and the collective coexist and need each other, not only in historic times but also in ours, when we seek to understand them. This book offers a more complex version, telling the story both of the big names in archi- tecture and of architects as a collective. The former, as the authors of the works of reference, are disseminated by the latter. Seen in this way, history acquires more subtle nuances, in which the transparency or opacity of the various layers alternately reveals the force of individuality and blends it into the collective. In association, Catalan architects became aware at an early date that their task was twofold. Within the profession, they had to devote them- selves to organizing their work and defending their own functions and responsibilities. To society as a whole, they had to show that the work of the architect, architecture, formed a substantial part of culture. It is not surprising that they thought this way; architecture has always been a constructive force in the city and organized the territory by means of significant works that have shaped society. In a century and a half, Catalan architects have understood that they have a place in public life and that it was their duty to occupy it. 9 This book is the history not just of the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalu- The variety of activities organized (exhibitions, congresses, lectures, nya, but of all the bodies which, in the last 25 years of the 19th century, visits, trips) is a reflection of the times. A physical account of them represented Catalan professionals. Our history begins in 1874, when the is given by the books and the magazines published by the institution, Associació d’Arquitectes de Catalunya was set up on the initiative of a documents that also present the discourses of the discipline, interna- few academics who foresaw the growth of the profession as a result both tional chronicles, and news from other fields of culture. of the implementation of the Cerdà Plan and the creation of the school of architecture, new to the city. The Association, of which membership The scene portrayed by this book is one of a long history that is very was voluntary, was the only professional organization for architects different to a quick glance at the present day. However, we believe that until 1931, when the Col·legi Oficial d’Arquitectes de Barcelona [Official its contents give the reader sufficient keys to extrapolate past situations Architects’ Institute of Barcelona] was created by decree, with obliga- to the present moment. In the spiral of history, some events are repeat- tory membership. Between 1931 and 1936, the two institutions contin- ed and others simply continue. At different times, first the Association ued to coexist until the military uprising of 1936. In the revolutionary and then the Institute had to face the same questions. Guided by various atmosphere that followed, the new Sindicat d’Arquitectes de Catalunya presidents, boards and members, they have led the institution along a [Architects’ Union of Catalonia] seized and eliminated them. At the end variety of paths that have not always been direct. So many people have of the war, in 1939, the Francoist authorities suppressed the Union and intervened in the course of their history with so many converging ideas maintained the Colegio Oficial, with its Spanish name, as the representa- that it could not be otherwise. tive of the profession. Since then, the Institute has gone through several stages, following the evolution of the country, from autarchy to the This book is open in two senses. First, as a taster of the various episodes conquest of democracy, in which it played an active role. The history in the history of the Institute and architecture in Catalonia, it opens of the Institute could be told from many viewpoints, alternatively the door to subsequent research. The vast documentary holdings of the highlighting professional, legislative, regulatory, technological and, different departments and archives, particularly the Historical Archive of course, political aspects. and the Library, offer their own reward for any researcher. Second, the book has no end, because it is about a living institution. The opening of This book centres on the cultural activity of the architects’ associations, the headquarters of the COAC in Plaça Nova, 50 years ago now, was both to which they have always devoted many of their resources, at the the materialization of the desire for modernization of generations of same time presenting a history of Catalan architecture seen from the architects and the platform that served to publicly project the institution. viewpoint of professional organization. Enric Granell, Antoni Ramon 10 11 01 ARCHITECTS AND GENTLEMEN On 19 March 1874, the Asociación de Arquitectos de Cataluña* [Archi- tects’ Association of Catalonia], the origin of today’s Col·legi d’Arquitec- tes [Architects’ Institute], was set up in Barcelona. Then, the city had 250,000 inhabitants and was expanding. In 1854, work had begun on demolishing the town walls, clearing the way for the Eixample, the city extension. A few years later, in 1859, the approval of Cerdà’s Plan paved the way for the development of the Barcelona Plain. What professionals were there to undertake the task? Just 24 architects and 19 master build- ers, according to the census of 1852. Roller coasters in the gardens of the Camps Elisis, the future Passeig de Gràcia, designed by the first president of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia, Josep Oriol Mestres, in 1853. The Architects’ Association was one in a network of scientific, literary and economic corporations in Barcelona, which probably began with the founding on 27 January 1752 of the Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres [Royal Academy of Letters]. However, the first strictly professional asso- ciations had been the Association of Pharmacists (1857) and the Associa- tion of Industrial Engineers (1863). The Architects’ Association was not the first body to bring together professionals involved in architecture, as the Centre de Mestres d’Obres de Catalunya [Centre for Master Build- ers of Catalonia] had existed since 1870. * Translator’s note: here, the name of the association is given in Spanish, the language in which it was registered. Likewise, in transcriptions of original texts, names are written in the Spanish form. Throughout, the various institutions are referred to by their Catalan names. 12 13 Josep Oriol Mestres: the first emblem of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia. It was less than a century since the title of architect had been institu- tionalized (1787), and teaching had recently ceased to be a monopoly of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid [San Fernando Royal Academy of the Arts] and was offered at the Escuela Especial de Arquitectura de Madrid [Special School of Architecture of Madrid] (1845).