The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) is delighted to announce that Faculty Elena Orte and Guillermo Sevillano (Suma Arquitectura), have been awarded with the highest distinction in Barcelona “Premis Ciutat de Barcelona 2022” for the project Gabriel García Márquez Library.
Elena Orte and Guillermo Sevillano are Faculty in the Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEBB) and last week, together with their students, they went for a visit of the awarded facility, located in Sant Martí de Provençals (Barcelona), that currently became a social and civic node of the neighbourhood.
The jury of the Premis Ciutat de Barcelona 2022, chaired by Kathrin Golda-Pongratz and with Pau de Solà-Morales, Ariadna Parreu, Eva Franch and Oscar Guayabero as members, has unanimously agreed to award Suma Arquitectura in the Architecture, Urban Planning and Design category. The award ceremony will take place next February 15th 2023.
The jury assessed that “the project resolves the material, environmental, spatial and urban aspects of a complex library program which provides a social, cultural and educational service to the neighborhood beyond the usual typologies. The building provides a climate shelter and a referential and iconic space, with a materiality that represents the values of a sustainable city open to reading and culture. The implementation of the project highlights haptic and sensory experiences, and creates an intimate and close space that invites us to rethink the future of libraries.“
About the Gabriel García Márquez Library
This project is a unique district library, presented as a sculptural volume inspired by stacked blocks of books and set on a square slightly elevated above the street, whose large openings and voids dialogue with the surroundings. The structure is a hybrid of laminated and cross-laminated timber and steel, maximizing structural efficiency and architectural performance. A dense wood structure that enhances the haptic qualities (warmth, texture, smell and hydrothermal performance) and provides warm and intimate zones, while the structural layout offers a great variety of spaces.
About MAEBB
MAEBB is an 11-month immersive academic program focused on learning how to design and build a new generation of buildings and cities to respond to the planet’s emerging climate challenges.
The program is carried out in Valldaura Labs, in Barcelona, a 135 He property located in the Collserola forest. The students live and work surrounded by nature while using the most advanced technologies and design techniques in the pursuit of what is also IAAC’s long term initiative, to create self-sufficient and ecological environments.
