Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

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Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura
IndustryArchitecture
Founded1963
FounderRicardo Bofill
HeadquartersLa Fábrica, Sant Just Desvern, Spain
Area served
International
Key people
Ricardo Bofill, Recardo Emilio Bofill, Pablo Bofill, Jean-Pierre Carniaux, Peter Hodgkinson
Websitewww.ricardobofill.com

Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) is a prolific[1][2] architecture firm that was founded in 1963 by Ricardo Bofill, initially as Taller de Arquitectura. It is headquartered in Sant Just Desvern near Barcelona, in an iconic former cement factory known as La Fábrica.

History[]

Ricardo Bofill, then 23 years old, founded the Taller de Arquitectura in 1963 by with the encouragement and support of his father, the architect and builder Emilio Bofill. From the start, Bofill had the vision of a multidisciplinary team that would bring together architects, engineers, planners, sociologist, writers, movie makers and philosophers to generate original design ideas with a social and political purpose. Initial members of the team included Bofill's relatives and childhood friends such as Anna Bofill, Xavier Bagué and Ramón Collado; writers such as  [es] and José Agustín Goytisolo; actress Serena Vergano; and visionary polymath  [es], a former fellow activist of Bofill within the clandestine Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia. In 1966 they were joined by Peter Hodgkinson. Jean-Pierre Carniaux joined a decade later in 1976.

At the very beginning, the Taller was hosted in the offices of Emilio Bofill's firm in the  [es] on Plaça de Catalunya,[3]:218 then moved to a temporary location on Calle de Calvet, then in 1965 to the new building designed by the Taller on Calle Nicaragua 99.[3]:217 It moved to La Fábrica in 1975.

In the early 1970s the Taller opened a Paris office, which worked on prominent projects in Paris and nearby state-sponsored new urban centers (villes nouvelles). In 1991, the Paris office moved into a purpose-built space at 18, rue d'Enghien.[4] It eventually closed in 2000.

In the late 1970s, the Taller de Arquitectura also collaborated with the Algerian government on urban planning and housing-related issues, culminating in the creation of an experimental new agricultural village at Méchraâ Houari Boumédienne near Abadla, Bechar Province.[5]

Some of the Taller's architects have moved on to create significant architecture firms of their own, e.g.  [es] in 1978, Nabil Gholam in 1994 and  [fr] in 2000.

Stylistic evolution[]

With much simplification, the design style of RBTA can be described as having gone through four phases: the geometrical combinations of the early projects in the 1960s and early 1970s, inspired by Utopian socialism, vernacular architecture and critical regionalism;[3] from the late 1970s, a turn towards ostensibly classical forms associated with large-scale utilization of precast concrete; from the late 1980s to the 2000s, a gradual distillation of that classical inspiration into a more abstract vocabulary that still referred to formal geometries and increasingly used steel and glass as its prominent materials; and in the 2010s, a partial return to vernacular inspiration, particularly in projects in the Muslim world such as Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco.[6]

As noted by Peter Hodgkinson in a video presenting the Taller's work in 1981, the group's building approach went from one extreme to the other in the space of two decades: from a strong emphasis on artisanal craftsmanship in the early 1960s, to large-scale heavy industrialization using precast concrete in the early 1980s. In the latter period, a division of labor existed between the two offices of Barcelona and Paris, with design functions centered in the former and industrialization and project execution in the latter, led at the time by Ramón Collado.[7]

The pivot towards classicism has arguably been the most debated of these successive shifts. Critic Geoffrey Broadbent wrote in 1981 about RBTA's recent work: "The point, of course, is that having shocked people once [with the geometrical plays of the Taller's early period], if you want to keep shocking them, the most outrageous thing you can do, as an avant-garde artist, is to go back to the Classical!"[8] According to Peter Hodgkinson, the influence of Charles Jencks played a role in prompting the Taller's Classicist turn in the late 1970s.[3]:241

Current structure[]

As of 2021, RBTA is led by Ricardo Bofill together with his two sons, Ricardo Emilio Bofill as President and Pablo Bofill as Chief Executive Officer. Its senior partners include Peter Hodgkinson and Jean-Pierre Carniaux.

Selected projects[]

Main article: List of works by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

Urban master plans[]

  • Moscow Agglomeration, Russia. Competition 2013
  • Barcelona New Port Mouth, Spain. Completed in 2009
  • Port of Savona, Italy. Completed 2005
  • Monchyplein, The Hague, the Netherlands. Completed in 2004
  • Antigone Quarter, Montpellier, France. Completed in 1999
  • Plateau Kirchberg and La Place de L’Europe, Luxembourg. Completed in 1998
  • Port of Kobe, Japan. Project 1991
  • Boston Artery, USA. Competition 1988
  • Agricultural Village Houari Boumedienne, Abadla, Algeria. Completed in 1980
  • Les Halles, Paris, France. Project 1975

Landscaping[]

  • Manzanares Park. Madrid, Spain. Completed in 2003
  • L’Aire des Volcans, Clermont Ferrand, France. Completed in 1991
  • Turia Gardens, Valencia, Spain. Completed in 1988
  • Aiguera Park, Benidorm, Spain. Completed in 1987
  • Marca Hispanica, Le Perthus, Spanish-French border. Completed in 1976

Transport infrastructure[]

  • T1 at Barcelona Airport. Spain. Completed in 2009.
  • Maritime Station, Savona, Italy. Completed in 2003
  • Module 5 at Barcelona Airport, Spain. Completed in 2003
  • Extension of Malaga Airport, Spain. Completed in 2000
  • Extension of Barcelona Airport (now Terminal 2), Spain. Completed in 1992

Government[]

  • Headquarters of Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Government, Montpellier, France Completed in 1988

Commercial[]

  • Desigual Headquarters, Barcelona, Spain. Completed in 2012
  • W Hotel, Barcelona, Spain. Completed in 2010
  • Shangrila Hotel. Beijing, China. Completed in 2008
  • Funchalcentrum, Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal. Completed in 2007
  • Lazona, Kawasaki Plaza, Japan. Completed in 2006
  • Madrid Congress Center, Spain. Completed in 1993
  • Domaine Chateau Lafite-rothschild, Pauillac, France. Completed in 1986

Offices[]

  • Tomorrow Plaza, Shenyang, China. Projected 2013
  • Signature Tower III, Gurgaon, India. Projected 2012
  • La Porte, Luxembourg. Completed in 2005
  • Cartier Headquarters, Paris, France. Completed in 2002
  • Citadel Centre, Chicago, US. Completed in 2003
  • Shiseido Building, Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 2001
  • Karlin Palace, Prague, Czech Republic. Completed in 1999
  • 180 North Lasalle, Chicago, US. Completed in 1999
  • Casablanca Twin Center. Casablanca. Completed in 1998
  • Marché Saint-Honoré, Paris, France. Completed in 1997
  • AXA Headquarters, Paris, France. Completed in 1999
  • Ayohama Palacio, Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 1998
  • 77 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, US. Completed in 1992
  • Swift Headquarters, La Hulpe, Belgium. Completed in 1989
  • Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura Headquarters, Sant Just Desvern, Spain. Completed in 1975

Culture and sports infrastructure[]

  • University Mohammed VI, Benguerir, Morocco. Projected 2014
  • Miguel Delibes Cultural Center, Valladolid. Completed in 2007
  • National Theatre of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain. Completed in 1997
  • National Institute for Sports and Physical Education, Barcelona, Spain. Completed in 1991
  • Shepherd School of Music, Houston, US. Completed in 1991
  • L’Arsenal, Metz, France. Completed in 1989
  • The Sanctuary of Meritxell, Andorra. Completed in 1977

Housing[]

  • Supershine Upper East Side, Beijing, China. Completed in 2008
  • Platinum Tower, Beyrouth, Lebanon. Project 2003
  • Pa Soder Crescent, Stockholm, Sweden. Completed in 1992
  • Port Juvenal, Montpellier, France. Completed in 1989
  • Les Echelles du Baroque, Paris, France. Completed in 1985
  • Belvedere Saint Christophe, Ville Nouvelle de Cergy-Pontoise, France. Completed in 1985
  • La Place du Nombre D’or, Montpellier, France. Completed in 1984
  • Les Espaces D’abraxas, Marne-la-Vallée, France. Completed in 1982
  • Les Arcades du Lac, St. Quentin en Yvelines, France. Completed in 1981
  • Walden 7, Sant Just Desvern, Spain. Completed in 1974
  • Barrio Gaudi, Reus, Spain. Completed in 1970
  • Kafka's Castle, Sitges, Spain. Completed in 1968
  • Apartment Buildings, Bach 4, Barcelona, Spain. Completed in 1965

Selected exhibitions[]

  • Taller de Arquitectura, Centro de Arte y de Cultura, Buenos Aires, 1976
  • La Strada Novissima, Biennale, Venice, 1980
  • Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Architectural Association, London, 1981
  • Projets Français 1971-1981 La Cité: Histoire et Technologie, École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1981
  • Présence de l’Histoire, Chapelle de la Salpêtrière, Paris, 1981.
  • The Presence of the Past, The International Architecture Exhibition from the Venice Biennale, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, 1982
  • El Jardí del Turia, Lonja, Valencia, 1982
  • Modern Islamic Architecture, Biennale, Venice, 1982
  • El Jardí del Turia : Metamorfosi della Cittá tra Cultura e Natura, Un esempio Spagnolo, Palazzo Braschi, Rome, 1983
  • Follies: Architecture for the Late XXth Century Landscape, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, 1983
  • Architecture et Industrie. Passé et avenir d’un mariage de raison, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1984
  • Image et Imaginaire de l’Architecture, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1984
  • Les Places d’EuropeHistoire et Actualité d’un Espace Public, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1984
  • Arquitectura de Tierra, Lonja, Valencia, 1984
  • Primera Semana de Video y Arquitectura, Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Urbanismo, Madrid, 1984
  • Follies, Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Urbanismo, Madrid, 1984
  • Follies: Architecture for the Late XXth Century Landscape, J. Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles, New York NY, 1984
  • Spaanse Kunst 1984, Nouvelles Images Gallery, The Hague, 1984
  • Architecture Espagnole (Années 3080), Europalia, Brussels, 1985
  • Ricardo Bofill and Leon Krier, Architecture, Urbanism and History. Museum of Modern Art, New York. 1985
  • R.B. Taller de Arquitectura, Stichting de Beurs Van Berlage, Amsterdam, 1989
  • R.B.Taller de Arquitectura, Musée d’Ixelles, Brussels, 1989
  • Catalan Art in New York (Design & Arts & Fashion), Armory, New York, 1990
  • Urban Furniture, Rotterdamse Kunst Stichting, Rotterdam, 1989
  • Barcelona the city and the ‘92, Biennale, Venice, 1992
  • Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura: MemoryFuture, Athaeneum, Chicago, 1992
  • Architecture & Sacred Space in modernity, Biennale, Venice, 1992
  • Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Guangzhou, 1993
  • Le Architetture dello spazio pubblico, Barcelona Airport, Triennale, Milan, 1997–99.
  • Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, Projectos e edifícios. Museu Casa da Luz, Funchal, Madeira, 2001
  • Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, , Palazzo Bembo, Venice, 2014

References[]

  1. ^ Serena Vergano, ed. (2009). Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura: Architecture in the era of local culture and international experience. RBTA.
  2. ^ Robert Klanten; Maria-Elisabeth Niebius; Valentina Marinai, eds. (2019). Ricardo Bofill: Visions of Architecture. Berlin: gestalten.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Pedro Alberto García Hernández (2013). "La Agregación Modular Como Mecanismo Proyectual Residencial en España: El Taller de Arquitectura". Escola Técnica i Superior d'Arquitectura La Salle - Universitat Ramon Llull.
  4. ^ "Le Petit Parisien". Paris Promeneurs.
  5. ^ "Houari Boumedienne agricultural village". europaconcorsi. 6 May 2014.
  6. ^ Jean-Louis André (2014). Pablo Bofill (ed.). Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique : Un écrin pour le savoir / An oasis of knowledge. Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura.
  7. ^ Peter Hodgkinson (1981). "A New Urban Clacissism". Pidgeon Digital.
  8. ^ Carson Chan (Spring 2014). "Ricardo Bofill, The Future of the Past: "I'm interested in my own history of errors."". MONO.KULTUR.
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