Girona is at the centre of the latest Architecture Awards from the College of Architects of Catalonia, with the jury again pointing to a strong preference for single-family homes, renovations and rehabilitations in small towns across the province.
Many of the projects are second homes for Barcelona families, designed to fit their surroundings and built with local materials. The awards also show a growing interest in traditional techniques and in spaces that help with heat control, such as galleries, patios and porches.
Miquel Riera, president of the COAC Girona demarcation, said single-family home work still dominates, but other project types are starting to appear. He cited public facilities such as the extension of the L'Escala Primary Care Centre, and said the COAC expects public housing developments and the future Girona Health Campus, which includes the new Trueta hospital, to become more important.
Girona city itself remains largely absent from the selected projects. Only one award-winning work is in the city, an ephemeral installation from a previous Temps de Flors festival. Jury member and Girona architect Ramon Bosch said most current architectural activity is driven by private architects and developers, and pointed to a return to indigenous and traditional techniques, including the use of persiana alacantina, or Alicante blinds.
Among the selected projects is the renovation of a house in Fonolleres by Finnish-Catalan architects Anna and Eugeni Bach. The design adds a large porch with a wooden roof and Alicante blinds, and uses artisanal tova from Baix Empordà, giving the house an earthy colour palette. Another example is Mas Nadal in Juià, by Tarragona-based NUA arquitectures, which was designed for a family returning from Barcelona and uses intermediate spaces for cross-ventilation and solar control.
Other projects include Casa Balma Murada near Cap de Creus Natural Park, designed by Barcelona studio Mesura with local slate and a form built to withstand the tramuntana wind, and Can Sargantana in Santa Pau, Garrotxa, reformed by Olot-based Bayona Studio around the idea of using the void as a driving force. The awards also include the extension of the Moisès Broggi Primary Care Centre in L'Escala, the rehabilitation of a warehouse into the Lleva't bakery in Avinyonet de Puigventós, and a new open-air amphitheatre at the Santa Clotilde Gardens in Lloret de Mar.
The 28th Girona Architecture Awards will be presented on 29 May at 7.30pm at the COAC Girona headquarters. For more Catalonia-wide coverage of architecture and civic projects, see our news tag.
