cm, Author at Architecture Walks and Tours in Barcelona

Christmas images

Posted on January 4, 2023 by cm

Today we want to share some images from our Christmas tours. We are very proud because many travellers have been walking with us on these holiday weeks and have enjoyed Barcelona through our Walking tours… This is our aim, to present the essence of Barcelona to the larger public.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to start new projects! Everyone gets back to work with more energy and enthusiasm. It was a pleasure to walk with you and let you immerse with our Xmas tours, in a city that will not leave you indifferent.
Thank you so much for choosing us to discover Barcelona, as you can see in this amazing images our walkers have a good time with us!!!

Walking with Barcelona Architecture Walks and you will discover the spirit of the city that dazzles many visitors and that we’re in love with!

Our aim is to present the essence of Barcelona to the larger public. Though previous knowledge of architecture is not necessary, it is essential to have unrestrained curiosity about discovering the ideas, concepts and stories that fuel the city’s architecture.

All the guides of Barcelona Architecture Walks are practicing architects, most of whom are professors of architecture, as well as architecture critics. This variety of top professionals provides a wide spectrum of knowledge on a huge range of topics that only Barcelona Architecture Walks can provide. We walk with our own critical and contemporary perspectives and a wry smile on our faces because… we love architecture!

And this Winter Barcelona Architecture Walks has all their tours ready to help you discover our city from a new perspective.

Each route is driven by a set of themes and concepts that decode the city whilst stimulating new ways of thinking about and seeing Barcelona. Come and walk with us and live a fantastic experience!!!

BOOK HERE YOUR TOUR!

2022 Christmas dinner

Posted on December 21, 2022 by cm

Today we want to share an image of the Christmas dinner that part of the BAW team enjoyed last Thursday. We love this time of year because it’s a great time to talk and share some of the things that happen during our walking tours. Which always help us to keep improving!

As you know we really love what we do and this kind of meetings are very important for us, because we share our differents experience to get better our work every day.

Here from right to left Elodie Grammont and Miguel Angel Borras (MIEL ARQUITECTOS), Rafael Gomez-Moriana, Jelena Prokopljevic, Cristina Santamaria, Daniela Sanchezs, Pia Wortham, Carmen Popescu and Mavi Hita.

We are delighted to be able to hold these Christmas dinner normally after the pandemic period and we are very happy to keep improving our family, because many people are interested about the walking tours we make!!!

As well we remind you this season in the festive weeks, we will continue offering the BARCELONA & GAUDI regular tours with their usual schedules, and our BARCELONA & URBANISM, BARCELONA & THE SEA, BARCELONA & FUTURE CITY and BARCELONA GOTHIC TO MODERN walks as private tours as well. and we only close 25th December and 1st January.

Here something about our Christmas tours:

BARCELONA & GAUDI A perfect start for your Barcelona stay!
Along the Modernism Route, we will trace the sinuous dream path that took Antoni Gaudí from his social concerns to a total absorption with the divine, until he finally became “the last great cathedral builder. A great morning discovering the genius of Gaudí and Barcelona architecture.

BARCELONA & THE FUTURE CITY walk through the smart-city looking for our Future and discover with us the new Superblock at Poblenou.

This is an urban walking reflection on the main aims of urbanism and how they have been applied in the 22@ district in Poblenou. This was once a neighborhood full of small factories that is now being revitalized in an attempt to recapture the spirit of it’s industrial heyday.

BARCELONA & URBANISM Travel with us to the origins of modern Barcelona!

This is a trip to the origins of the guidelines laid out by Ildefons Cerdà on the plain of Barcelona. He was responsible for designing a 133m x 133m grid without borders, hierarchies or suburbs that has given Barcelona the status of an advanced city.

BARCELONA & THE SEA Discover the history of Barcelona through its architecture!

The intense conversation between Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea has been always about how the quest for order; this concept of order is confronted by the obstinate reality of urban chaos, which is precisely what makes it all so interesting.

BARCELONA & GOTHIC TO MODERN see Barcelona through the eyes of Enric Miralles.

With the aim of truly enjoying Enric Miralles’s work, we propose a journey of initiation that will attempt to be loyal to the architect’s words: “The architecture that interests me is capable of avoiding demagoguery and cannot hide the complex reality it comes from.”

That’s why we invite you to take a walk with us, as they are really special tours through the atmosphere of its streets. Besides the weather is usually very nice, so it’s the perfect plan for a great holidays!

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Andreina Seijas at IAAC

Posted on December 15, 2022 by cm

Andreina Seijas is a Venezuelan researcher and international consultant. After completing her doctoral studies in night-time planning and governance at the Harvard School of Design, Andreina founded Night Tank, a firm specialized in this novel field. Previously, Andreina worked as a senior consultant for IdenCity in Barcelona; as consultant for the Housing and Urban Development Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington D.C.; as Policy Associate at the Council of the Americas in New York City; and as Information Manager for the municipality of Chacao in Caracas, Venezuela. Andreina has a Communications degree from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, an MSc in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics, a Master in Public Administration and Non-Profit management from New York University, and a Doctor of Design (DDes) degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Managing 24-Hour Cities: Time as a New Urban Frontier by Andreina Seijas

Time, like space, is a key asset in urban areas. However, urbanists often forget about the social and political implications of managing urban time. A public space, a square or a building has different uses throughout the 24-hour cycle, and a wide range of actors take part in the nocturnal ecosystem of cities: nightlife and entertainment venues, hospitals, transport and logistics, call centers and creative industries, just to name a few, are part of cities’ night-time economy. While vibrant nightscapes have become a mark for the cultural status and appeal of global cities, sensitivities to noise and other forms of nuisance become greater after dark. To handle this, more than 60 cities around the world have created specialized institutions such as “night mayors,” responsible for mediating among public and private interests and promoting safe and inclusive nocturnal environments. By presenting international projects and examples, this talk will introduce the concept of night-time governance and explain why the urban night is becoming a relevant field of study and practice within the planning and design disciplines.

IAAC Lecture Series – Andreina Seijas. Date: Thursday, 15th December, 2022 Time: 19.30h (CET)

Title: “Governing 24-Hour Cities: Time as a New Urban Frontier”

Location: In-house at IAAC Main hall, C/ Pujades 102 & Zoom

2022 Christmas tours program

Posted on December 9, 2022 by cm

Christmas time is approaching in a few days and it’s time to start planning for the holidays. Today we want to share our Christmas tours program 2022.

This season in the festive weeks, we will continue offering the BARCELONA & GAUDI regular tours with their usual schedules, and our BARCELONA & URBANISM, BARCELONA & THE SEA, BARCELONA & FUTURE CITY and BARCELONA GOTHIC TO MODERN walks as private tours as well. and we only close 25th December and 1st January.

Christmas is really a beautiful moment, Barcelona is decorated and illuminated in a very special way to receive all the visitors, it is a magical time to discover our city full of joy and festivity… Barcelona beats in another way and it’s felt in its streets.

Here something about our Christmas tours:

BARCELONA & THE FUTURE CITY walk through the smart-city looking for our Future and discover with us the new Superblock at Poblenou.

BARCELONA & URBANISM Travel with us to the origins of modern Barcelona!

BARCELONA & THE SEA Discover the history of Barcelona through its architecture!

BARCELONA & GOTHIC TO MODERN see Barcelona through the eyes of Enric Miralles.

BOOK NOW!

IAAC Lecture Series – Chris Reed

Posted on November 30, 2022 by cm

“Staging” by Chris Reed at IAAC Lecture Series, Thursday 1st December.

Chris Reed is Founding Director of STOSS, where he leads the design and content of each project. A designer, researcher, strategist, teacher, and advisor, Chris is recognised internationally as a leading voice in the transformation of landscapes and cities and was a recipient of the 2012 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Landscape Architecture. While running STOSS and its projects, Chris is also a Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. His commitment to teaching is not only a way to develop the next generation of landscape architects, but also keeps STOSS on a constant quest for new ways of seeing, thinking, and doing, which has helped put the firm at the forefront of the profession.

While running STOSS and its projects, Chris is also a Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. His commitment to teaching is not only a way to develop the next generation of landscape architects, but also keeps STOSS on a constant quest for new ways of seeing, thinking, and doing, which has helped put the firm at the forefront of the profession.

Staging

The increasingly complex web of environmental, social, political, and cultural dynamics impacting global cities and extended landscapes demand responses that are anticipatory, multivariate, inclusive, and adaptable. As designers we must think and act expansively, acknowledging that our work typically happens at discrete moments in time, while the life of the spaces and places we imagine will continue to evolve.

In this context, the idea of STAGING—setting up, supporting, curating, catalysing—is essential. Conceptually and operationally, Staging opens up possibilities for how we negotiate between the things we make and do and the various ways that time, social and racial dynamics, climatic processes, politics and economics, and regulatory systems and policies will continue to impact and re-make the contexts and performances of our work. This talk will frame how we at Stoss Landscape Urbanism tackle these challenges through collaboration, strategic design practice, and the pursuit of critical social, cultural, and environmental agendas.

IAAC Lecture Series – Chris Reed

Title: “Staging”

Date: Thursday, 1st December, 2022 Time: 19.30h (CET)

Location: In-house at IAAC Main hall, C/ Pujades 102 & Zoom

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Mette Bak-Andersen at IAAC Lecture Series

Posted on November 20, 2022 by cm

“Sustainable Design – From Knowing About to Knowing How” lecture by Mette Bak-Andersen

Mette Bak-Andersen is a designer and researcher dedicated to changing the way we design things. She has a PhD in sustainable design and materials from the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture and Design and for more than 13 years she has been working with sustainability and material circularity in her design practice, in design education and in her research, both in Denmark and internationally. In 2013 she founded the Material Design Lab at Copenhagen School of Design & Technology, which she directed until 2018.

Mette has extensive experience with the design and production of furniture, products and interiors and has presented her research and designs to variety of audiences such as Berkeley University, Salone in Milan, Trapholt Museum of Design and Red Dot Museum in Essen. She has worked with a number of different companies as a design consultant supporting them in the transition to sustainable design and production. In 2021 she published the book Reintroducing Materials for Sustainable Design.

Sustainable Design – From Knowing About to Knowing How

For too long humanity has been behaving as if the materials we could grow and extract from Earth were unlimited. This behaviour has affected how we have built our society and infrastructure, how we have processed raw materials, the setup of our manufacturing systems and not least, the way we design things.
For a period in time designers did not need to have much more knowledge about materials than anybody else. Because it did not matter how different materials were mixed and combined. We believed all resources to be abundant and did not need to recycle the materials from the products once they could no longer be used.

Many designers are by now fully aware of the urgency for change. They know about the criteria for sustainable design and want to take back control over their products, but frequently they are challenged by the fact that knowing about sustainable design is not the same as knowing how.
In-depth material knowledge, craft skills and the ability to manipulate and work with materials creatively may not seem directly related to sustainability, but they are essential attributes for a anyone who wish to design physical sustainable products. Even when the end goal is digital design and manufacturing.

This lecture is about why and how we must obtain this knowledge as designers and how the role of the designer inevitably will change in the process.

IAAC Lecture Series – Mette Bak-Andersen

Date: Tuesday, 22nd November, 2022 Time: 19.30h (CET)

Title: “Sustainable Design – From Knowing About to Knowing How”

Location: In-house at IAAC Main hall, C/ Pujades 102 & Zoom

Knock on Wood! sustainability and environment

Posted on November 15, 2022 by cm

Knock on Wood! Design, Wood and Sustainability exhibition at Barcelona Disseny Hub.

During this autumn-winter season the Disseny Hub hosts the ‘Knock on Wood! Design, Wood and Sustainability’ exhibition within the Museu del Disseny temporary exhibition programme.

The display, which can be visited from 2 November onwards, includes 420 pieces made from wood used to create designs applied to various fields such as construction, automobiles, aeronautics, the textile sector, acoustics, the health and energy sectors, among others.

‘Knock on Wood! Design, Wood and Sustainability’, curated by Martí Boada and Pilar Vélez, reclaims this material – wood – due to its sustainable nature with regards the planet and for its contribution to circular bioeconomy. Using the wooden objects on display, and from the design perspective, a tour is given providing insight on the relationship of wood and human life throughout history and highlights the objects, artefacts and designs that have meant a turning point in human cultural evolution.

From the Schöningen spears, the oldest wooden design known to humankind (about three hundred thousand years ago), down to today, the use of wood has been a constant feature although in modern times it has often been replaced by other materials. In the last few decades we have been experiencing an increase in its use and a recovery. So, with ‘Knock on Wood! Design, Wood and Sustainability’ we present elements made out of in wood ranging from the Schöningen spears and some ladles from the Neolithic period to contemporary applications such as MHM (Module Habitat Mediterranean) homes (the prototype of a real-size home made from wood, cork and straw which responds to the demands and challenges to be able to face the environmental crisis).

The proposal forms part of the annual conference of the European Forest Institute, which has named Barcelona as the European Forest City in 2022. The objective of this initiative is precisely to raise awareness of the great value of European forests.

The exhibition can be visited at the Design Museum until 22 January 2023.

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Felipe Vera Lecture at IAAC

Posted on November 6, 2022 by cm

IAAC Lecture Series “Latin America in Transition” by Felipe Vera

Felipe Vera is a Chilean architect and urbanist working as Sector Specialist at the Housing and Urban Development Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). At IADB, he leads urban design and planning programs and regional technical cooperation, focusing on slum upgrading, resiliency, and ecological design. His knowledge work focuses on exploring the agency of temporality and the potential of design imagination for synthesizing more adaptable solutions made up of softer strategies, which are elastic, reversible, and capable to encompass a wide spectrum of unpredictable city pressures. In relation to this, Vera has written and lectured extensively on issues about urban design and planning, migration, and ecology in vulnerable contexts.

He is the author of several books and publications aimed at understanding and designing strategies for building resilience in vulnerable cities. Some of these include “Informing the Informal: Strategies for Generating Information in Vulnerable Settlements” (2021), which covers topics such as data collection for designing urban policies in precarious areas; the Inmigrando series, comprised by the books Strengthening Destination Cities (2020), Building Plural Cities (2020), and Understanding Cities in Transition (2021) —which seek to understand migration flux, its impact, and potentials on destination cities.

Latin America in Transition: Imagining Infrastructures for Climatic Migration

The world is facing a moment of growing climate and migratory uncertainty. The accelerated intensity of natural and humanitarian disasters is giving rise to new and more complex forms of vulnerability. Migration has acquired an unprecedented dimension, while the infrastructure that will respond to climate displacements remains unanswered. While current estimates account for 250 million international migrants, predictions indicate that by 2050 this number will increase to 350 million, of which 60% will have been displaced due to environmental factors. Rising sea levels, changes in rainfall distribution patterns and in ocean chemistry will strongly affect coastal cities, where 77% of the at- risk global population resides. The climate crises also accentuate inequalities, as the most vulnerable groups are the more exposed to the effects of environmental hazards. In the near future, the landscape of informality will be a direct reflection of the effects of climate change and its intensified migration.

IAAC Lecture Series – Felipe Vera

Date: Tuesday, 8th November, 2022
Time: 19.30h (CET)

Title: “Latin America in Transition: Imagining Infrastructures for Climatic Migration”

Location: In-house at IAAC Main hall, C/ Pujades 102 & Zoom

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Barcelona Architecture Walks 12th Anniversary

Posted on November 2, 2022 by cm

12th Anniversary from our first walking tour!

Last 30th October we celebrated our 12th Anniversary. Twelve years ago, we started an exciting adventure, the Barcelona Architecture Walks, for this we mixed an equal love for our city and the desire to make it known to all visitors who want to take a different souvenir from Barcelona, through an enriching walk.

In these 12 years we have learned from each of our walkers, walkers who have given us their eyes and attention to immerse them in the universe that architects breathe.
During the way we have diversified the routes, 5 urban explorations per week allow us to offer the traveler a polyhedral architectural immersion, beside other 5 special tours tailor made to your needs in and around Barcelona. It is through these different tours that Barcelona Architecture Walks gives visitors a comprehensive view of the city from its early history to its present state, a unique urban plan and fascinating architecture.

WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO CELEBRATE THAT WE KEEP GROWING!!! We will like to end by thanking all of you who have chosen to visit Barcelona to discover our city by walking with the BAW, to our present team of architects and to our friends and family because without their support and vote of confidence none of this would have been possible.

We remind you our 5 regular tours:

BARCELONA & THE FUTURE walk through the smart-city looking for our Future and discover with us the new Superblock at Poblenou.

BARCELONA & GOTHIC TO MODERN see Barcelona through the eyes of Enric Miralles.

BARCELONA & GAUDI a great start to discover the genius of Gaudí.

BARCELONA & THE URBANISM travel with us to the origins of the modern Barcelona.

BARCELONA & THE SEA discover Barcelona through its architecture.

In addition we have other 5 special tours:

BCN & LANDSCAPE coach tour of the largest urban parks in Barcelona.

BCN & MODERNISME 4-5 h expedition, during this tour we will see all the structures of the BARCELONA & GAUDI plus the area of the 1888 exhibition.

BCN & BARCELONA 1929 a tour discovering the projects that were made for the transformation of Barcelona on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1929.

BCN & SAGRADA FAMILIA. On this special four-hour tour, you will enjoy two of the most emblematic and most visited monuments in Barcelona led by an official tour guide that specializes in “Modernismo”.

BAW & RCR a full day coach excursion to see the most emblematic works of the RCR studio, awarded with the Pritzker of Architecture 2017.

Each route is driven by a set of themes and concepts that decode the city whilst stimulating new ways of thinking about and seeing Barcelona. Our guides transmit the passion and effort that has gone into the design of each of our tours while giving each tour experience a personal touch.

Come and walk with us and live a fantastic experience!!!

BOOK NOW!

Architecture Now!

Posted on October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 by cm

BURR Studio, CRÜ Studio y NUA Arquitectures en el encuentro Architecture Now! del Roca Barcelona Gallery

La arquitectura no es sólo técnica o funcionalidad; es una expresión multidisciplinar, cultural, social y medioambiental. Es un reflejo de la sociedad, su historia y su camino hacia la experimentación. Por esta razón, en Architecture Now! se descubriran propuestas innovadoras y creativas y hablarán de arquitectura y ciudad de una manera transversal, plural y holística. En definitiva, hablaran del entorno, cultura y vida.

En esta sesión de Architecture Now!, desde un sofá y con un formato late night show, la arquitecta y comunicadora Nuria Moliner conversará con 3 estudios BURR Studio, CRÜ Studio y NUA Arquitectures, liderados por jóvenes arquitectos y descubriremos el antes y el después de sus reformas.

La rehabilitación se ha convertido en el presente y el futuro de la arquitectura, especialmente en las ciudades occidentales, ya construidas, densas y consolidadas. Lo cierto es que desde la burbuja inmobiliaria y la crisis de la construcción, el sector ha cambiado por completo. Por necesidad, sí. Pero también por ecología. Reformar y mantener el que ya existe es más sostenible que construir de cero.

Por un motivo o por otro, las reformas son una constante en el panorama actual de la arquitectura catalana. Especialmente entre los arquitectos más jóvenes, que rehabilitan y recuperan piezas de nuestras ciudades para preservar su valor y darles una nueva vida adaptada al presente, con sensibilidad y calidad arquitectónica. Sus proyectos reflejan otras maneras de vivir y de entender la arquitectura y el interiorismo.

26/10/22 – 19:00 H en ROCA BARCELONA GALLERY

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Open House Barcelona 2022

Posted on October 19, 2022 by cm

El próximo fin de semana del 22 y 23 de octubre arranca el festival de arquitectura 48h Open House Barcelona 2022 en el que podremos volver a disfrutar de la arquitectura de nuestras ciudades.

El festival Open House Barcelona 2022 es un homenaje a la dedicación y a la responsabilidad de quienes materializan la arquitectura, a esas personas que aportan su compromiso, disciplina y generosidad en la creación del entorno en el que vivimos. Concretamos esta admiración con La Liga de los Oficios, una concisa demostración de oficios heterogéneos que crean múltiples arquitecturas, de características y posibilidades variadas.

Este enfoque en lo que está más allá del edificio –en los oficios, en los procesos y en los elementos– es una manera de derribar barreras entre diseñadores y artesanos, entre usuarios y arquitectos. Nos interesa que se vean las personas que hacen estos trabajos, generalmente ocultas, y proponeros una toma de conciencia sobre la arquitectura como una obra co-creada. Queremos que estos profesionales y artesanos compartan con nosotros los secretos de esos procesos de producción colaborativa. Porque, al final, quienes se dedican a crear ese todo que es la arquitectura son personas que materializan este entorno en el que vivimos.

ANTIGUA SEDE DE LA EDITORIAL GUSTAVO GILI © José Hevia

Tendremos la fortuna de visitar algunos espacios clave en la representación de esta liga: el IAAC en Barcelona, el Institut Provençana, con su Blue Container Project, en L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Ca l’Amigó en Badalona, el campus de Torribera en Santa Coloma de Gramenet, la Escola d’Art en Can Negre en Sant Joan Despí, el Teatre La Massa en Vilassar de Dalt, y la Casa Josep Planes Robert en Sitges.

TORRE JUJOL © Didac Guxens

La programación del festival resalta también diferentes edificios de la programación organizándolos por secciones temáticas:

Open Infraestructuras invita a visitar las instalaciones que apoyan al desarrollo de las ciudades, como la antigua fábrica Enmasa Mercedes-Benz en Barcelona, las cocheras del Tram en Sant Joan Despí, o las oficinas municipales El Viver en Badalona;

Open Social muestra la arquitectura de la ciudad que responde a los desafíos de crear una sociedad igualitaria, como la Escuela La Salle Comtal, el taller Top Manta en Can Batlló, o el espacio de recursos para mujeres La Ciba en Santa Coloma de Gramenet;

Open Green destaca los edificios pensados con criterios de sostenibilidad ambiental, energética y económica, como el CEM Turó de la Peira y la vivienda passivhaus en Barcelona, o el edificio Planeta en L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.

PROGRAMACIÓN Y EDIFICIOS DE OPEN HOUSE BARCELONA 2022

Special Big tours

Posted on October 13, 2022 by cm

In these last weeks we have had the pleasure of working with different groups from landscape and architecture offices that have chosen Barcelona Architecture Walks to get to know our city. We hope they have all enjoyed these tours as much as our leading architects and that we have been able to transmit the essence of our culture through our urban planning, the landscape, and the architecture of Barcelona.

As a follow up we will be telling you more and showing some pictures from our “special big tours”!

SOLA – Studio Oslo Landscape Architecture from Norway. They were walking through our Landscape special tour with 18 architects from this ofice based in Oslo. Our tour lead by Daniela our lanscape guide and Mario Suñer landscaper from Batlle i Roig office. For this ocasion we design an special Landscape tour focused on what they were interested, it’s landscape architecture, urban planning, green mobility and cycling! projects around Barcelona, but also in new housing concepts, particularly ones that are socially sustainable and incorporate the landscape.

A Future tour for a group of 60 students of city planning, urbanism and development from Norway. Lead by Pia Wortham and Rafael Gomez. They were interested in doing our Barcelona & The Future walking tour, especially interested in the super blocks, architecture (modern and old), and urbanism.

Another special Gaudi tour visiting Casa Mila and Casa Batllo lead by Guillermo Ginestar and Pia Wortham for 30 persons from the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. The Direction team, some curators and a group of donors were enjoing with us discovering the master of Barcelona modernism.

A graduating class from the Gymnasium am Münsterplatz in Basel, Switzerland enjoied our Future walking tour 21 students. Very interested in a tour of Poble Nou to learn about urban development and modern concepts of housing. As they have talked about Barcelonas Superblocks in class, they were very interested to visit and learn more about them and hope to be able to do this with the help of one of our qualified guides.

MUUAN an architectural office from Helsinki walk with our Urbanism tour with 15 person of its office. Our leading architect Pia Wortham wander through courtyards, avenues and squares to feel the pulse of local Barcelona and the architectural richness of Cerdà’s Barcelona.

Barcelona has been a source of inspiration for multiple disciplines, but especially for the world of architecture and planning.

Would you like to get to know Barcelona? Tell us about your interests and together we will design a tour experience with everything you want to discover!

Together we will have an unforgettable experience!

And we remind you that each route is driven by a set of themes and concepts that decode the city whilst stimulating new ways of thinking about and seeing Barcelona. Come and walk with us and live a fantastic experience!!!

BOOK NOW!

Mass is More

Posted on October 4, 2022 by cm

IAAC presents Mass is More at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion

Mass is More is the installation designed by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and Bauhaus Earth that brings the innovation of mass timber construction to the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona. The project, open to visit from 1st to 9th of October 2022, establishes a dialogue between the industrial modernity of the 20th century and the new low-emission buildings of the 21st century.

The event serves as a stage for the launch of MASS MADERA, a national network of pioneers whose main mission is to facilitate and promote the construction of green buildings, and work towards the decarbonization of architecture. Through various interventions, the installation shows how the use of wood and other regenerative materials can help reduce the high CO2 emissions that are associated with the construction industry.

©Adria-Goula

The project has been made possible through grant funding from Built by Nature (BbN), a philanthropic fund dedicated to accelerating the timber building transformation in Europe by radically reducing embodied carbon; safely storing carbon in our buildings for generations; and sequestering carbon by championing forest stewardship and regeneration. Laudes Foundation is the founding partner of Built by Nature.

“Mass is More” will also host the launch of MASS MADERA, a network of Spanish pioneers in industrialized solid wood construction, including cities, governments, companies, organizations and architects from around the country. This network is being coordinated by IAAC, whose main objective is to promote the development of mass timber construction, and the reduction of CO2 emissions associated with it.

©Adria-Goula

The “Mass is More” installation transforms the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion.

Almost a century after the construction of the German Pavilion designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, IAAC and Bauhaus Earth propose to create a dialogue between the past and the future of wood and an exhibition that explores the use of biogenic materials for architecture. The pavilion is also the host of the biennial European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards, attesting to the role and influence of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe in the current architectural discourse.

©Adria-Goula

Adhering to the architectural language of the pavilion, this new installation creates a dialogue between the most advanced materials of the 20th century and the 21st century. Through a series of elements made of cross laminated timber (CLT) panels from local forests, this installation demonstrates the structural capabilities of this new materiality and its suitability for constructing more sustainable buildings with a much lower environmental impact. All the pieces that make up this installation have been produced by Xilonor, the most advanced Galician CLT company in Spain, part of the FINSA group.

Anupama Kundoo at Roca Gallery

Posted on September 27, 2022 by cm

Anupama Kundoo: Co-Creation. Architecture is Collaboration. Exhibition at Roca Gallery Barcelona.

Many minds and many hands are involved in the production of architecture from the conception right up to the final manifestation. In this exhibition Anupama Kundoo seeks to reveal the underlying collaboration processes and players that are central to the production of architecture.

She also proposes the future evolution of architecture practice where competition will make way for co-operation, with a growing awareness of our coexistence. The potential of collaboration and co-operation have been underutilized as a great force for achieving excellence, integrated thinking, and scenarios where large visions can be executed with great attention to details. This change in trend could accelerate the speed at which human society can usher in a future approach to the built environment that is socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable where knowledge building, empowerment and human engagement will provide mutual benefits for all.

The exhibition shows a selection of projects produced through a diverse set of collaborators according to the context. The projects range from cooperation within the profession to interdisciplinary collaborations, as well as other participants such as artisan communities, NGOs, academia and municipalities. Combining projects of all scales from product development, building technologies, and city level urban projects, this exhibition explores Kundoo’s research-oriented practice focusing on rethinking materiality, energy-efficient architecture, inclusive participative processes, affordability and circular economy, and green infrastructure.

My work begins with and remains close to the deep human need to have purpose, refuge, and social engagement. It speaks through details; details that foster intimacy and variety, sensory and spatial. It is where makers engage with hand and mind to produce objects they are proud of, where they transform simple materials with care and intelligence into purposeful structures, where they are challenged to do more with less, and where they routinely exceed all expectations including their own.

My buildings have too much to do already – providing purpose, refuge, and engagement for all stakeholders — without also having to accommodate an Anupama Kundoo signature style.

You can see this exhibition until September 30th at Roca Barcelona Gallery

C/Joan Güell, 211, 213, 08028 Barcelona

Gothic to Modern walking tour

Posted on September 20, 2022September 20, 2022 by cm

Today we want to talk about our Barcelona & Gothic to Modern walking tour, the perfect way to discover Barcelona through the eyes of Enric Miralles.

Join us as we explore the ideas and mindset of Enric Miralles, a genius in our lifetime. With Benedetta Tagliabue, he designed one of the most brilliant works of architecture in this city: the refurbishing of Santa Caterina Market.

This architecture tour walks through history, politics, the cultural imagination and the architecture of Barcelona’s Gothic and La Ribera Quarters.

We begin the journey in Roman Barcelona, then travel to the Carolingian era, the post-Franco era, Olympic Barcelona and, finally, the era that created el forat de la vergonya (the hole of shame). The walk ends in the market, where we will do some fieldwork to check Miralles’ methods, along with some of the processes that formed part of his modus operandi.

We remind you our 5 regular tours:

BARCELONA & THE FUTURE walk through the smart-city looking for our Future and discover with us the new Superblock at Poblenou.

BARCELONA & GOTHIC TO MODERN see Barcelona through the eyes of Enric Miralles.

BARCELONA & GAUDI a great start to discover the genius of Gaudí.

BARCELONA & THE URBANISM travel with us to the origins of the modern Barcelona.

BARCELONA & THE SEA discover Barcelona through its architecture.

In addition we have other 5 special tours:

BCN & LANDSCAPE coach tour of the largest urban parks in Barcelona.

BCN & MODERNISME 4-5 h expedition, during this tour we will see all the structures of the BARCELONA & GAUDI plus the area of the 1888 exhibition.

BCN & BARCELONA 1929 a tour discovering the projects that were made for the transformation of Barcelona on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1929.

BAW & RCR a full day coach excursion to see the most emblematic works of the RCR studio, awarded with the Pritzker of Architecture 2017.