From March 16th to June 4th ”Correa & Milà in perspective” exhibition at COAC
2024 marks the centenary of the birth of Federico Correa (Barcelona, 1924 – 2020) and Alfonso Milà (Barcelona, 1924 – 2009), one of the most influential pair of architects from Barcelona from the second half of the 20th century. Claiming their legacy just because of this anniversary would possibly seem to them to be an irrelevant convention. In this sense, the Open Architecture Centre proposes the exhibition once the work of inventorying, treatment and cataloging of the donation of the fund of its professional archive has been completed, following the duo’s logical and functional way of doing.
O. Maspons. Correa i Milà a la planta bar de l’edifici del COAC. Barcelona, c.1962 – Fons Fotogràfic O. Maspons – Arxiu Històric del COAC
In 1997 the COAC, in collaboration with the Ministerio de Fomento, dedicated an exhibition to the architects which, seen in perspective and together with the construction of the Episcopal Museum of Vic, was almost like a slow-motion farewell to all the friends and followers of their work.
Today, this new approach makes sense for several reasons. The first one is the growing interest in Correa & Milà’s work in recent years by new generations of architects not linked to their mastery or to their personal and professional relationships, stating the timelessness of many of their contributions, both in architecture and design.
Il Giardinetto / Correa Milà. Image © Montse Garriga
The second reason is the possibility of looking over the architects’ work in their absence, a fact that allows unpublished material to be brought to light that may not have been of interest to them, but its relevance is undeniable for the proper study and understanding of their work. This in-depth study is possible thanks to the more than 600 files that the Historical Archive of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia has had since 2006.
The third reason – which is related to the previous point – is to read their work in relation to the society in which they developed it, trying to comprehend the conditions that made it possible and fostered its particularities beyond the talent and good practice of the authors.
Curation and exhibition design by AMOO (Aureli Mora + Omar Ornaque).
