The exhibition The starting point for Grafting Architecture is the restoration of Casa Bofarull (1913-1933), one of the key works of Josep Maria Jujol (1879-1949). Grafting Architecture speaks of a contemporary attitude shared over time by many projects and many architects wherein each building is understood from within itself, through its uniqueness, and noticeably enriches the place where it is located. Grafting transmits the idea of a new organism that combines the strong points of its original components and is more vigorous than either of them on their own, an idea of renewal and growth. However it is in the last quarter of the 20th century and the early 21st century where we find a great number of projects in Catalan architecture in which proposals of different types and scales achieve brilliant results. We can find this grafted architecture across the centuries in a great many examples. Preexisting structures, physical or otherwise, are grafted with the new proposal, generating a building that brings together and harmoniously fuses the characteristics of what already exists and what is new. In architecture we can identify a number of processes that bear a great similarity to this botanical process. Grafting is a process that involves inserting part of a tree with one or more buds into the branch or trunk of another tree such that a permanent union is established between the two, in the same way as the viticulturist who grafts a scion from the desired grape variety onto the rootstock and where the subsequent grape quality and the excellence of the resulting wine stem from correct union between scion and rootstock. To achieve its objectives, the Institute Ramon Llull provides support for the cultural foreign relations policies of consortium institutions and contributes to strengthening the Catalan Culture, Catalonia and Barcelona brands from a cultural perspective. The Institut Ramon Llull is a consortium formed by the Government of Catalonia and the City of Barcelona that aims to promote Catalan language and culture internationally in all of its means of expression. Catalonia has also participated in the Eventi Collaterali of the Venice Biennale of Art every year since 2009. It first participated in 2012 with the project Vogadors/Architectural Rowers, curated by Jordi Badia and Fèlix Arranz. This is the second time the Institut Ramon Llull presents Catalonia within the Eventi Collaterali of the Venice Biennale of Architecture. legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya Fèlix Arranz and Jordi Badia, curators of Catalonia’s project at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2012 Carme Pinós, architect Olga Felip, architect, and Àlex Susanna, assistant director of the IRL at the time of the competition.legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya Fernando Marzà, director of culture of the Col.The other members of the panel were Lluís-Xavier Comerón, dean of the Col The panel of judges that chose this project by Josep Torrents i Alegre was chaired by Lluís Domènech i Girbau, who holds a PhD in Architecture and is president of Arquitectes per l’Arquitectura and the author of several books on modernism.
#DARIA RESTORATION PROJECT TORRENT UPDATE#
This proposal, chosen by a panel of judges through a public competition held by Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), the driving force behind Catalonia’s participation, seeks to elucidate the changes taking place in contemporary Catalan architecture, presenting examples of a way of going about things that is able to update a living tradition, projecting it towards the future. Catalonia at Venice Catalonia returns to the Eventi Collaterali of the 14th Venice Biennale of Architecture with the project Arquitectures Empeltades/Grafting Architecture curated by Josep Torrents i Alegre together with associate curators Guillem Carabí Bescós and Jordi Ribas Boldú.