Form study of the intermediate states of the building. The image of construction works. Barcelona. 1922-1992
stages of the construction process was immediately recognized by photographers, engineers and architects. The birth and development of
photography coincided with the very important debates about construction methods when important public works and infrastructure
operations were carried out. The camera became a fundamental tool for engineering and architecture: a hallmark of modernity.
Photography of the building under construction became a genre in itself in the mid-19th century.
Engineers incorporated the camera into their field work and to disseminate all phases of the construction of the great public works of the
19th century: cartographic surveys and geographical demarcation, progress of bridges, roads, canals or mechanical experiments.
Architects and their clients also saw the advantage of recording construction processes. Local or national governments commissioned the
preparation of catalogues and albums of monuments. However, compared to engineers, architects, even making use of the record of the
construction process of their proposals, prefer to disseminate the photograph of the finished work. Their usual destination is the private
archive, they are often overlooked in explanations of architecture.
The project aims to locate, compile and present in a public and understandable manner the photographic documents that show
architecture in works between the years 1922 and 1992 in the city of Barcelona. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of buildings by
revealing the hidden structures that underpin their visible form, sometimes defying the logic of appearance. In this way, better understand
the relationship between the technical conception and the aesthetic conception of the building. This framed in the national and international context.
2025/11/20
Publication about Gordon Bunshaft: Form Through Technics
This presentation introduces the Oro Editions publication dedicated to architect Gordon Bunshaft, a leading figure of mid-20th-century American modernism and longtime partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The book offers an in-depth look at Bunshaft’s architectural approach, highlighting his commitment to clarity of form, structural precision, and the possibilities of industrialized materials. Through drawings, photography, and critical commentary, the publication revisits his most influential projects and situates his work within the broader evolution of modern architecture. The event will open a discussion on how Bunshaft’s ideas continue to inform contemporary architectural practice and the way we read corporate, civic, and cultural buildings today.
2025/11/21
“Arxiu Icària 1987–1992. Choreography of a Territory in Transformation” Exhibition Opens at UPC-ETSAB
The exhibition “Arxiu Icària 1987–1992: Choreography of a Territory in Transformation”, by photographer Martí Llorens, opens on November 17th at the Oriol Bohigas Library and the lobby of the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona (UPC-ETSAB).
The show, on view until January 31st, revisits the profound urban and territorial transformations of Icària through a photographic archive that documents a key moment in Barcelona’s contemporary history.
2025/11/20
Presentation and Discussion about the Publication Luis Ferreira Alves Prize/2025 Edition in Barcelona - November 20th
On November 20th at 6:30 PM, the Nollegiu del Poblenou Bookstore will host the presentation of the Luís Ferreira Alves Prize | 2025 Edition, with architect Pedro Leão Neto and ETSAB professor Cristina Gastón. The event introduces the bilingual publication that showcases the prize’s award-winning photographic series and essays on architecture and image.
The presentation anticipates the book’s official launch at the 10th Sophia Journal International Conference at UPC-ETSAB on November 21st and 22nd.
2025-10-30
Cristina Gastón’s Lecture: “The Aesthetics of the Building Under Construction”
Cristina Gastón will deliver the lecture “The Aesthetics of the Building Under Construction” as part of the series “Shared Structures. Tectonic Culture.” This event is a collaboration between the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism of the University of Buenos Aires (FADU, UBA), the Cultural Center of Spain in Buenos Aires (CCEBA), and the Embassy of Spain in Argentina.
We share the link to the series, which is open to students, architects, and anyone interested in the subject. The conference will be streamed live on YouTube.
2025/10/20
Lecture: "Ways of seeing". In the GLOBAL DEAN´S FORUM In Shanghai (China)
Place: Bell Hall, CAUP Building B, Tongji University. Shanghai (China). Summary: Thought the John Berger’s book on the teaching and practice of architecture from my own experience, highlighting the importance of balancing theory, research, and professional practice. Through historical examples and personal projects, it advocates looking to the past to innovate, integrating memory FO and technique in design, and teaching how to 'see' architecture as a dialogue between aesthetics, structure, and context.
2025/10/01
LFA Award 2025 Catalogue by Pedro Leão Neto
This publication commemorates the first edition of the “Luis Ferreira Alves International Photography Competition,” a biennial contest that celebrates the legacy of this Portuguese photographer, a key figure in the visual documentation of contemporary architecture. The book International co-publication between scopio Editions and Turner
brings together the winning projects —selected from more than 1,400 entries from 99 countries—accompanied by critical texts that engage with the photographic work from a broad cultural perspective.
2025-11-22
Sophia Journal International Conference
The Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB, UPC) will host the 10th edition of the Sophia Journal International Conference on November 21 and 22, bringing together architects, researchers, and academics to reflect on modernity, transitional states in architecture, and other emerging realities.
The event will feature the launch of Sophia Journal Vol. 11 and keynote speakers such as Félix Solaguren Beascoa, Pedro Leão Neto, Cristina Gastón, and the renowned photographer Manolo Laguillo, Marti Llorens.
2025/10/21
Lecture: "What I’m talking about when I talk about Architecture". In the GLOBAL DEAN´S FORUM In Shanghai (China)
Place: Expo Center, 1500 Expo Avenue, Pudong District, Shanghai. (China). Summary: When speaking about architecture, it is impossible not to explain one’s own experience: how the references offered by History become ‘travelling companions’ on the path toward the final reality, and how the constructive processes that gave rise to previous projects take on a key role in that slow process known as designing. In every decision, memory, technique, and intuition intertwine, shaping a personal language that enters into dialogue with what has already been built. Thus, designing ceases to be an immediate act and becomes a continuous reflection on values, forms, and time.
2025-09-12
1st edition of the Luis Ferreira Alves International Photography Award
On 12 September 2025, the Old Town Hall hosted the official award ceremony, the opening of the exhibition and the launch of the publication of the 1st edition of the Luis Ferreira Alves International Photography Award. The exhibition, now open at the Antiga Casa da Câmara, in Terreiro da Sé, will run until 31 October 2025.
2025-08-27
Organisation of Congress EAAE: "Transhistorical Pedagogies". "Book of abstracts".
Place: Diagonal, 649, 08028-Barcelona, Spain. Summary: Vitruvius’ enduring questions—what architecture is and what architects should know—remain central to architectural education. Rather than reducing complexity, architecture schools must embrace it, offering multidisciplinary, interconnected learning across scales and time. By doing so, they prepare students not only as competent professionals, but as critical contributors to the evolving and transformative discipline of architecture.
2025-08-28
Conferencia en Seminario académico de divulgación doctoral DOCAAD
The Doctoral Program in Architecture, Arts, and Design (DOCAAD), organized by Roberto Rojas Aladana, is hosting an online seminar titled “Three Design Methodologies.” Under the theme “The (Re)construction of Projects,” Cristina Gastón reflects on her recent years of experience as coordinator of PI-II at ETSAB/UPC and presents her research project.
2025-07-06
Participation of Martí Llorens in the 3rd Photography and Architecture Conference
Martí Llorens took part in the 3rd Photography and Architecture Conference with the presentation “Arxiu Icarià (1987–1992). Proposals for the Ongoing Reinterpretation of an Archival Collection”, a reflection on urban memory and the reinterpretation of photographic archives within the context of contemporary architecture.
2025-07-06
Round Table and Jury:" IMUAU International Diploma Talks: Framing the Future of Architectural Education"
Place: Strada Academiei 18-20, București 010014, Rumanía. Summary:The event included four debate panels and aimed to capture the views of the national and international members of the Diploma Juries on the selected panel topics.
The event was composed of four panels, which were scheduled to take place on July 2 and 3 after the deliberation of the diploma juries.
2025-06-28
Casa da Arquitectura hosted the ceremony for the Luis Ferreira Alves International Photography Award
On 28 June 2025, in Matosinhos, the central pavilion of Casa da Arquitectura hosted the award ceremony for the Luis Ferreira Alves International Photography Award. The session combined a screening of the winning photographic series, institutional interventions and a meeting with the members of the competition jury: architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, photographers Hélène Binet and Paulo Catrica, and the coordinator and curator of the prize, Pedro Leão Neto.
2025-06-18
Article in ACE Journal. Cristina Gastón / Carlos Labarta
La revista ACE: Architecture, City and Environment has sled an article by Cristina Gastón and Carlos Labarta titulado “La estructura metálica escondida en el Pabellón suizo de Le Corbusier y Pierre Jeanneret”. El estudio analiza la innovadora estructura metálica oculta del pabellón, revelando aspectos técnicos y conceptuales que aportan una nueva lectura sobre la obra de los arquitectos y su enfoque hacia la modernidad constructiva.
Gastón Guirao, C., y Labarta Aizpún, C. (2025). La estructura metálica escondida en el Pabellón suizo de Le Corbusier y Pierre Jeanneret. ACE: Architecture, City and Environment, 19(57), 13207.
2025-04-11
Visita a las obras de la zona ferroviaria de La Sagrera
Luís Ubalde (ADIF-INECO), civil engineer and director of the railway section of the new La Sagrera High-Speed Station, gives us a guided tour of the structure that will house the new station — a one-kilometer-long building, the largest in Barcelona.
Participants include Martí Llorens, Judit Taberna, Sol Diéguez, Joan Curós and Cristina Gastón, along with the students from the course “To Look is to Design.” Special guest Xavier Basiana.
2025-04-10
Congress and Round Table: "Interconnections" In Vilnius (Lituania)
Place: Pylimo g. 26, Vilnius, 01141 Vilniaus m. sav., Lituania. Summary: This is an annual event of the EAAE, providing an opportunity to meet and discuss issues concerning the current state of architectural education and research, as well as contemporary conditions of the profession.
2025-02-28
University of Azuay and the Pumapungo Museum inaugurated the exhibition “Latinitudes” by Leonardo Finotti
On February 28, the University of Azuay and the Pumapungo Museum inaugurated the exhibition “Latinitudes” by Leonardo Finotti. The event was attended by authorities, professors, and students from our university community, as well as representatives and members of the Pumapungo Museum and the general public.
The work “Latinitudes” is a photographic project that compiles examples of modern architecture in Latin America through an original visual narrative.
2025-02-12
Book: "Investigar en Arquitectura 2. Research in Architecture 2"
Summary:The book talk about the critical reading and academic accompaniment of a selection of doctoral theses. The result is not a mere compilation: it is an atlas of affinities, a system of resonances between projects, contexts, architects, and geographies. Through the commentary of twenty-four theses, a system of references is drawn that ranges from the work of Arne Jacobsen, the figure of Álvaro Siza, or the writings of Martienssen, to contemporary urban phenomena, Mediterranean architectures, or projects that dialogue with landscape and memory.
🔗 ART05- Investigar en Arquitectura (2) – Félix Solaguren-Beascoa
2025-12-13
Participation in the XLVII International Course on Intervention in Architectural Heritage
Participación en XLVIIè Curset Jornades Internacionals sobre la Intervenció en el Patrimoni Arquitectònic. Coderch i l’Avantguarda Catalana: del Grup R al Team 10. Barcelona, del 12 al 15 de desembre de 2024.
Cristina Gastón presenta la conferencia “Coderch, Català-Roca, Maspons, Ubiña, fotògrafs”. Félix Solaguren-Beascoa presenta la conferencia “Coderch i la docència.
2024-11-19
Lecture for XLVII AADIPA course: "Coderch and his teaching work".
Place: ETSAB, Avd. Diagonal 649. 08028 Barcelona, Spain. Summary:The course was about the work of the Catalan architect José Antonio Coderch. The lecture focused on the architect’s academic work. Under the instruction of Josep M.ª Jujol, he carried out a series of exercises that are preserved in the ETSAB Archives, where one can observe how they would have a direct influence on his professional work.
🔗 XLVII Curset – Jornadas Internacionales sobre la Intervención en el Patrimonio Arquitectónico
2024-11-19
Science and Photography in Barcelona: Celebrating 185 Years of the First Photograph
On Tuesday, November 19, at 6:00 p.m., the event “Science and Photography in Barcelona” took place. The celebration marked the 185th anniversary of the first photograph, featuring presentations by the distinguished academic Mr. Manuel Laguillo, Ms. Rebecca Mutell, and Mr. Martí Llorens.
2024-11-09
1839-2024: Ciencia y fotografía veinte textos: 1838-1843 selección y prólogo
Rebecca Mutell and Martí Llorens; introduction by the distinguished academic Mr. Manuel Laguillo; presented at the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (Reial Acadèmia de Ciències i Arts de Barcelona) on November 19, 2024, in commemoration of the 185th anniversary of the first photograph taken in our country.
2024-11-08
Presentación del libro “O projeto moderno. Pautas de pesquisa”
The book presentation was held in a mixed format — in person, from the ETSAB auditorium, and online. Participants included Félix Solaguren (Director of ETSAB/UPC) and the authors Cristina Gastón (ETSAB/UPC) and Teresa Rovira (ETSAB/UPC), as well as Sergio Marqués (DOCOMOMO RS and PROPAR), Luis Antonio Gomes (Editora Sulina), Marta Peixoto (DOCOMOMO Brasil and PROPAR), and Nicolás Sica Palermo (UFRGS), who was responsible for the Portuguese translation and the new Brazilian edition of the book The Modern Project. Research Guidelines (2017).
2024-09-15
DOCTORATE PROGRAM ACCEPTANCE
Admission of Sol Diéguez’s Thesis Topic in the PhD Program of the Department of Architectural Projects. Tesis supervision, Cristina Gastón Guirao.
Auxiliary Elements in Architecture BARCELONA UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Issues of Aesthetics, Form, and Function in Temporary
2024-08-28
Congress and round table: "EAAE Annual Conference and General Meeting", Münster, Germany.
Place: Leonardo-Campus 5, 48149 Münster, Germany. Summary:Architectural education is undergoing major change due to the rapid growth of human activity and its measurable impact on the built environment. Architects must now consider not only traditional design elements—such as structure, material, texture, light, and scale—but also urgent issues like climate change, resource availability, and the broader consequences of architectural decisions. As a result, future architects must take greater responsibility for how their work affects society and the planet.
2024-04-25
Congress and round table: "EAAE Annual Dean's Conference and General Meeting", Amsterdam, Holland.
Place: Amsterdam Academy of Architectur, Waterlooplein 211-213. 1011 PG Amsterdam. Nederland. Summary:At the fourth Deans’ Summit in Amsterdam, participants reviewed how design education is changing, questioning whether students are being prepared for today’s practice or the more sustainable, regenerative practice needed for the future. They stressed the need for new frameworks, interdisciplinary knowledge, and approaches that respond to the climate crisis.
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