L'Arxiu Històric del COAC col·labora amb l'exposició "Masó: interiors"
Imatge:
© Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC)
El Museu de la Garrotxa acull l'exposició "Masó: interiors", organitzada per la Fundació Rafael Masó, des de l'1 de juny. La mostra inclou més de 200 obres que permeten redescobrir el llegat de l'arquitecte Rafael Masó (1880-1935), arreu de les comarques de Girona.
Es troben representats els interiors de nou edificis representatius de l'obra de Masó com la Casa Quintana, la Casa Masó, l'Apartament Masó Bru, la Casa Masramon, la Casa Ensesa, la Casa Casas, la Casa Salieti, la Casa Carles ("lo Mirador") i el Palau Solterra.
En aquesta ocasió, l'Arxiu Històric del COAC a Girona hi col·labora cedint en préstec 115 documents, entre dibuixos originals de l'arquitecte i publicacions de l'època, que mostren la influència de les tendències que fa cent anys predominaven al centre i nord d'Europa, sobre la seva obra. Masó va fer seves aquestes idees, basades en la simplicitat i els motius geomètrics, les va adaptar i introduir a Catalunya, fent de la seva creació un llegat del qual podem gaudir en aquesta exposició.
"Masó: interiors" es podrà visitar fins el 15 d'agost de 2017.
Es troben representats els interiors de nou edificis representatius de l'obra de Masó com la Casa Quintana, la Casa Masó, l'Apartament Masó Bru, la Casa Masramon, la Casa Ensesa, la Casa Casas, la Casa Salieti, la Casa Carles ("lo Mirador") i el Palau Solterra.
En aquesta ocasió, l'Arxiu Històric del COAC a Girona hi col·labora cedint en préstec 115 documents, entre dibuixos originals de l'arquitecte i publicacions de l'època, que mostren la influència de les tendències que fa cent anys predominaven al centre i nord d'Europa, sobre la seva obra. Masó va fer seves aquestes idees, basades en la simplicitat i els motius geomètrics, les va adaptar i introduir a Catalunya, fent de la seva creació un llegat del qual podem gaudir en aquesta exposició.
"Masó: interiors" es podrà visitar fins el 15 d'agost de 2017.
20/07/2017
Key points of the Law on Architecture
Imatge:
© Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC)
Catalonia’s Law on Architecture, the first such legislation in Spain and the second in Europe, establishes architecture as an activity of general interest and the foundation for wellbeing and social cohesion. Accordingly, the Government and public administrations of Catalonia shall establish actions to foster and encourage architectural and town planning quality and measures to promote the proper framework for action in public procurement and also as a benchmark for activities in the private sector.
Based on this premise, the Law’s preamble notes Europe’s legal precedents that form the basis for the declaration of architecture as an activity of general interest and its legislative implementation. The main points of the Law on Architecture are:
- The definition of architecture as an activity of general interest and the provision of measures for its promotion.
- The establishment of measures to place value on and promote the role of architecture in people’s wellbeing.
- Promotion and highlighting of the innovative role of architecture and its potential for encouraging sustainable development.
- Stipulation of the measures to foster and boost architectural quality.
- Promotion of quality in architecture by means of exemplary public building policies.
- Stipulation that the Government of Catalonia shall define the guide value for professional fees in the field of architecture.
- In architecture tender processes, evaluation of quality criteria shall prevail over price.
- Promotion of diversity in and young persons’ access to public procurement.
- Establishment of the procurement arrangements and value above which the public administrations must contract the architectural process and town planning instruments.
- Boosting of the profile of and appreciation for architecture by means of mechanisms such as the Premi Catalunya for Architecture and Built Heritage and the Council for Architectural and Planning Quality of Catalonia, and the creation of architectural quality consultative bodies for local administrations.
- The carrying out of public tenders by means of the two-round design competition with jury involvement arrangement.
- Promotion of the proper makeup of the juries in public procurement tender processes to guarantee selection of the best bid, as well as transparency and the obligatory disclosure of jury minutes and bids presented.
- Noting in the preamble that continuity between the design and works management is one of the aims of the law.
Based on this premise, the Law’s preamble notes Europe’s legal precedents that form the basis for the declaration of architecture as an activity of general interest and its legislative implementation. The main points of the Law on Architecture are:
- The definition of architecture as an activity of general interest and the provision of measures for its promotion.
- The establishment of measures to place value on and promote the role of architecture in people’s wellbeing.
- Promotion and highlighting of the innovative role of architecture and its potential for encouraging sustainable development.
- Stipulation of the measures to foster and boost architectural quality.
- Promotion of quality in architecture by means of exemplary public building policies.
- Stipulation that the Government of Catalonia shall define the guide value for professional fees in the field of architecture.
- In architecture tender processes, evaluation of quality criteria shall prevail over price.
- Promotion of diversity in and young persons’ access to public procurement.
- Establishment of the procurement arrangements and value above which the public administrations must contract the architectural process and town planning instruments.
- Boosting of the profile of and appreciation for architecture by means of mechanisms such as the Premi Catalunya for Architecture and Built Heritage and the Council for Architectural and Planning Quality of Catalonia, and the creation of architectural quality consultative bodies for local administrations.
- The carrying out of public tenders by means of the two-round design competition with jury involvement arrangement.
- Promotion of the proper makeup of the juries in public procurement tender processes to guarantee selection of the best bid, as well as transparency and the obligatory disclosure of jury minutes and bids presented.
- Noting in the preamble that continuity between the design and works management is one of the aims of the law.
28/06/2017
The Law on Architecture approved
Imatge:
© Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC)
Today, 28 June 2017, the Parliament of Catalonia passed the Law on Architecture, with 98 votes in favour (Junts pel Sí, Catalunya Sí Que Es Pot, Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya and Partit Popular de Catalunya), 9 against (CUP) and 25 abstentions (Ciutadans), thereby concluding a process initiated four years ago by the Catalan Ministry of Territory and Sustainability with the backing of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC) and the collaboration of a wide range of bodies, organisations, schools of architecture and individual architects.
The Law passed today highlights the public interest value of architecture and has the chief goal of re-establishing the social value and mission of architects to improve people’s wellbeing. The Law thus gives concrete form to one of the Association’s priorities for some years, one that has been the subject of a number of actions, such as the Sí a l'Arquitectura! (Yes to Architecture!) campaign and the 2016 Architecture Congress, amongst others.
The Architects’ Association dean, Lluís Comerón, declared himself convinced that ‘the Law will help architecture to create more optimal living conditions and environments, and also improve the working conditions of the professionals involved’.
Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability Josep Rull described the new legislation as a ‘consensus-based, pioneering, inclusive, modernising and structural’ law. He also noted how ‘the Law covers all the aspects and all the professions involved in the architectural creation process’.
The key points of the new Law
The new Law contains measures that the COAC regards as essential, such as the formulation of architectural training content in education, the creation of new criteria and technical content for administrative management and procurement and, in the field of public procurement, the pre-eminence in evaluation criteria of architectural quality over economic considerations and the establishment of benchmark guide values for calculating prices in public procurement tender processes.
Four years of hard work
The origins of the Law date back four years, when the Catalan Ministry of Territory and Sustainability decided, with the COAC’s support, to commence the process of its drawing up.
Over this time, it has enjoyed broad-based support from the majority of organisations involved, including all of Catalonia’s schools of architecture, Arquinfad, and Arquitectes per l’Arquitectura, in addition to professional institutes and associations.
Check out the detailed timeline
A top-drawer European law
This new legislation follows on from a number of European Union resolutions and recommendations advising the fostering of architectural quality and highlighting the added value contributed by the sector, from both an economic and cultural standpoint.
In this regard, the Law on Architecture is the very first legislation of its type in Spain and the second in Europe, after the law passed in France in 2016.
FULL TEXT
Read the law on architecture published on DOGC
The Law passed today highlights the public interest value of architecture and has the chief goal of re-establishing the social value and mission of architects to improve people’s wellbeing. The Law thus gives concrete form to one of the Association’s priorities for some years, one that has been the subject of a number of actions, such as the Sí a l'Arquitectura! (Yes to Architecture!) campaign and the 2016 Architecture Congress, amongst others.
The Architects’ Association dean, Lluís Comerón, declared himself convinced that ‘the Law will help architecture to create more optimal living conditions and environments, and also improve the working conditions of the professionals involved’.
Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability Josep Rull described the new legislation as a ‘consensus-based, pioneering, inclusive, modernising and structural’ law. He also noted how ‘the Law covers all the aspects and all the professions involved in the architectural creation process’.
The key points of the new Law
The new Law contains measures that the COAC regards as essential, such as the formulation of architectural training content in education, the creation of new criteria and technical content for administrative management and procurement and, in the field of public procurement, the pre-eminence in evaluation criteria of architectural quality over economic considerations and the establishment of benchmark guide values for calculating prices in public procurement tender processes.
Four years of hard work
The origins of the Law date back four years, when the Catalan Ministry of Territory and Sustainability decided, with the COAC’s support, to commence the process of its drawing up.
Over this time, it has enjoyed broad-based support from the majority of organisations involved, including all of Catalonia’s schools of architecture, Arquinfad, and Arquitectes per l’Arquitectura, in addition to professional institutes and associations.
Check out the detailed timeline
A top-drawer European law
This new legislation follows on from a number of European Union resolutions and recommendations advising the fostering of architectural quality and highlighting the added value contributed by the sector, from both an economic and cultural standpoint.
In this regard, the Law on Architecture is the very first legislation of its type in Spain and the second in Europe, after the law passed in France in 2016.
FULL TEXT
Read the law on architecture published on DOGC
28/06/2017
Four years working together to promote the social value of architecture
Imatge:
© Parlament de Catalunya
At the beginning of 2013, Santi Vila, the then Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability, warmly welcomed the Architects’ Association of Catalonia’s proposal of developing a Law on Architecture, along the lines of the similar law in France.
In May of the same year, the Association submitted a preliminary draft text of the Law, focusing on defining architecture as an asset of general public interest, establishing instruments for its dissemination and promotion and for governing public procurement with criteria of exemplariness.
The Minister then began the process moving forward with the proposal, constituting a joint promotion group between the Ministry and the Association to establish the basis of the future text. The group drew up an initial draft, on whose basis the Government of Catalonia was to approve the wording of the future law.
The commencement of processing of the bill
On 3 December 2013, the Executive Council of the Government of Catalonia approved the Law’s preliminary report. This marked the start of the parliamentary processing of the draft bill of the Law on Architecture.
To do this, a drafting team was constituted, involving the participation of members of the Ministry of Territory and Sustainability, the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC), the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB), Arquitectes per l'Arquitectura (AxA), the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia and the Catalan Association of Municipalities. In March 2014, the processing of the draft bill commenced.
After a year of hard work, in August, the Executive Council of the Government of Catalonia approved the draft bill of the Catalan Law on Architecture. All that remained, then, was for the future law to be debated in Parliament. Nevertheless, the calling of elections for Catalonia prevented its immediate processing in Parliament.
Government ratification and the start of parliamentary processing
In March 2016, after the formation of the new Executive, Josep Rull, the new Minister for Territory and Sustainability, picked up the baton and returned to the task of promoting the Law, now with the goal of ensuring the greatest possible consensus. With this in mind, the Government of Catalonia ratified the draft bill, once again opening up the way for the parliamentary processing of what was now a formal bill, which was given leave to proceed on 22 March.
Parliamentary debate
On 19 October 2016, the plenary session of the Parliament of Catalonia debated the entire bill. Having completed this initial step, the bill continued its way through Parliament, moving on to being dealt with by the Territory Committee, which had to debate its content.
This marked the start of a period of appearances before Parliament by the different organisations and associations, who explained their viewpoints on the content of the bill. The 15th of February 2017 saw the first of these appearances, which included, amongst others, those of La Col Architects’ Cooperative, Arquitectes per l'Arquitectura (AxA), the Architecture and Sustainability Group of the Architects’ Association (AUS), the Urban Architects’ Group of the Architects’ Association (AAUC), the Council of Schools of Architecture of Catalonia, the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia and the Catalan Association of Municipalities. All of them gave the Law their support. The appearances concluded on 1 March with that of the Association’s dean, Lluís Comerón, who explained the reasons for and aims and advantages of the Law for an hour.
After including the amendments proposed by parliamentary groups, the bill returned to the Parliament’s plenary session for its final debate and vote, which took place on 28 June. The Law on Architecture was passed with broad consensus: 98 votes in favour, 9 against and 25 abstentions.
A collaborative process: many thanks to all involved!
It has been four years of hard work led by the Catalan Ministry of Territory and Sustainability, which has at all times enjoyed the support and close collaboration of the COAC.
We would like to express our thanks for the backing we have received from AxA, Arquinfad, Catalonia’s schools of architecture, Barcelona City Council, the Higher Council of Architects’ Associations of Spain (CSCAE), the Barcelona Association of Quantity Surveyors, Technical Architects and Building Engineers (CAATEEB) and the other professional institutes and organisations involved, not to mention the other institutions, organisations and individuals who helped make this great collective project possible.
We have all worked towards a common goal: that of ensuring the best possible legal framework for reinvigorating architecture’s value to society, building a better future for our cities and establishing a proper professional framework for our colleagues.
In May of the same year, the Association submitted a preliminary draft text of the Law, focusing on defining architecture as an asset of general public interest, establishing instruments for its dissemination and promotion and for governing public procurement with criteria of exemplariness.
The Minister then began the process moving forward with the proposal, constituting a joint promotion group between the Ministry and the Association to establish the basis of the future text. The group drew up an initial draft, on whose basis the Government of Catalonia was to approve the wording of the future law.
The commencement of processing of the bill
On 3 December 2013, the Executive Council of the Government of Catalonia approved the Law’s preliminary report. This marked the start of the parliamentary processing of the draft bill of the Law on Architecture.
To do this, a drafting team was constituted, involving the participation of members of the Ministry of Territory and Sustainability, the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC), the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB), Arquitectes per l'Arquitectura (AxA), the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia and the Catalan Association of Municipalities. In March 2014, the processing of the draft bill commenced.
After a year of hard work, in August, the Executive Council of the Government of Catalonia approved the draft bill of the Catalan Law on Architecture. All that remained, then, was for the future law to be debated in Parliament. Nevertheless, the calling of elections for Catalonia prevented its immediate processing in Parliament.
Government ratification and the start of parliamentary processing
In March 2016, after the formation of the new Executive, Josep Rull, the new Minister for Territory and Sustainability, picked up the baton and returned to the task of promoting the Law, now with the goal of ensuring the greatest possible consensus. With this in mind, the Government of Catalonia ratified the draft bill, once again opening up the way for the parliamentary processing of what was now a formal bill, which was given leave to proceed on 22 March.
Parliamentary debate
On 19 October 2016, the plenary session of the Parliament of Catalonia debated the entire bill. Having completed this initial step, the bill continued its way through Parliament, moving on to being dealt with by the Territory Committee, which had to debate its content.
This marked the start of a period of appearances before Parliament by the different organisations and associations, who explained their viewpoints on the content of the bill. The 15th of February 2017 saw the first of these appearances, which included, amongst others, those of La Col Architects’ Cooperative, Arquitectes per l'Arquitectura (AxA), the Architecture and Sustainability Group of the Architects’ Association (AUS), the Urban Architects’ Group of the Architects’ Association (AAUC), the Council of Schools of Architecture of Catalonia, the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia and the Catalan Association of Municipalities. All of them gave the Law their support. The appearances concluded on 1 March with that of the Association’s dean, Lluís Comerón, who explained the reasons for and aims and advantages of the Law for an hour.
After including the amendments proposed by parliamentary groups, the bill returned to the Parliament’s plenary session for its final debate and vote, which took place on 28 June. The Law on Architecture was passed with broad consensus: 98 votes in favour, 9 against and 25 abstentions.
A collaborative process: many thanks to all involved!
It has been four years of hard work led by the Catalan Ministry of Territory and Sustainability, which has at all times enjoyed the support and close collaboration of the COAC.
We would like to express our thanks for the backing we have received from AxA, Arquinfad, Catalonia’s schools of architecture, Barcelona City Council, the Higher Council of Architects’ Associations of Spain (CSCAE), the Barcelona Association of Quantity Surveyors, Technical Architects and Building Engineers (CAATEEB) and the other professional institutes and organisations involved, not to mention the other institutions, organisations and individuals who helped make this great collective project possible.
We have all worked towards a common goal: that of ensuring the best possible legal framework for reinvigorating architecture’s value to society, building a better future for our cities and establishing a proper professional framework for our colleagues.
28/06/2017