Texas A&M University College of Architecture
Clemson University College of Architecture
Roger Williams University School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation
CEDIM, The School of Design
Spring 2020 in Barcelona Architecture Center BAC
Spring 2020 Design Studio Final Presentations
Our Final Presentations photo album is bit different this semester, but we still love to share with all some moments from last week’s 3 intensive days.
We cannot thank you enough, our BAC professors for adapting to all circumstances with your teaching in this past few months.
Thank you!
We want to give thank you to all our jury, professors and architects from Clemson University, Texas A&M University, Roger Williams University, from Barcelona and from the BAC.
We were honored to have you all with us.
Thank you!
And the last the most important big THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS goes to our students!
This is not goodbye, but only until the next time!
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Fall 2019 Design Studio Final Presentations
Another semester has come to the end.
Lots of work, travels, friendships and life experiences for us and for our students.
We take this opportunity to thank to our final presentations jury:
Professors from our universities, thank you for coming to share this last moments of semester with us:
Stephen Caffey
Associate Department Head for Research. Department of Architecture, Texas A&M University
Daniel N. Harding /
Director Graduate Studies in Architecture, School of Architecture, Clemson University
Timothy Brown /
Director of Undergraduate Architecture Programs, School of Architecture,Clemson University /
Thank you to our invited architects:
Mercè Berengué, Principal Architect, Roldán + Berengué arqts /
Miquel Rodriguez, Principal Architect XMade /
Bernat Hernández, Principal Architect Labaula /
Sergi Serrat, Principal Architect GRND82 /
Of course we cannot thank enough to all our professors:
Miguel Roldan, BAC Director, Design Studio, Principal Architect Roldan + Berengué arqts. /
Pasqual Bendicho, Design Studio, Principal Architect Sumo Arquitectes /
Zana Bosnic BAC Coordinator, Design Studio, Seminar Visits/Travels, Architect Roldan + Berengué arqts. /
Ivan Blasi, Field Studies Seminar, Travels, Architect and Mies van der Rohe Foundation and Award coordinator /
Jelena Prokopljevic, Urban History Seminar, Architect, Curator and Critic /
Pia Wortham, Building Technology Seminar, Architect and Editor /
Anna Sala, Seminar Visits/Travels, Architect and Mies van der Rohe Foundation and award collaborator /
The special THANK YOU goes to our students, our future architects and landscape architects!
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication throughout this semester.
We are looking forward to see into your future as professionals.
Until the next time….
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9th edition BAC JAPAN 2020
Intensive course in Barcelona for Architecture students from Japan.
BARCELONA, SPAIN, SPRING 2020
MARCH 5th 2020– MARCH 26th 2020
For more information: https://bacjapan.wixsite.com/2020
contact: bacjapan59@gmail.com
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Spring 2019 video
.. We are asked many times to explain what we do at the BAC… The best way to explain what we do is to ask our students to explain it. Our wonderful architect (former grad student from Texas A&M) Roxy Treviño, showed it in this video..
Thank you Roxy for the beautiful video and special thanks to our wonderful and talented actors/architects from the Spring 2019 semester from Texas A&M University, Clemson University and Roger Williams University!
BAC Spring 2019
Another wonderful semester has come to the end..
Congratulations to all our students again for the hard work and all the semester results. We wish you the best of luck in your future academic and professional steps. We are happy to be small part of your journey!
Big thank you to our jury and some of them that have come from far to represent our Universities and to participate at our Final Presentations:
Andrew Cohen, Professor of Architecture at the Roger Williams University School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation; Marcel Erminy, Associate Professor of Practice at Texas A&M University Department of Architecture; Luca Rocco, Adjunct Professor at Clemson University School of Architecture Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research & Urban Studies; Merce Berengué, Principal Architect, Roldan + Berengué arqts; Paolo Valcic, Architect and Interior Designer;
All our appreciation and thank you for being part of our team to our professors:
Miguel Roldan, BAC Director, Design Studio professor, Principal Architect Roldan + Berengué arqts; Miquel Rodriguez, Design Studio professor , Principal Architect XMade; Zana Bosnic, BAC Coordinator, Design Studio professor , Architect Roldan + Berengué arqts; Katrin Baumgarten, Design Studio professor, Principal Architect Roomz Arquitectos; Pasqual Bendicho, Design Studio professor, Principal Architect, Sumo Arquitectes; Ivan Blasi, Field Studies Seminar, Travels professor, Architect and Mies van der Rohe Foundation and Award Coordinator; Pia Wothham , Building Technology Seminar professor, Architect and Editor; Jelena Prokopljevic, Urban History Seminar professor, Architect, Curator and Critic; Anna Sala Travels and Field visits professor, Architect and Mies van der Rohe Foundation and Award collaborator
And thank you to all our visiting lecturers this past semester: Robert Brufau, Manuel Colominas, Toni Cumella, Enric Massip
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BAC Fall 2018
Another semester and year has come to the end and this is shortly what had happened during this very intensive 16 weeks with our students from Texas A&M University, Clemson University and Roger Williams University.
We give special thanks to our invited jury including Marcel Erminy, Texas A&M University Associate Professor of Practice Department of Architecture; Koichiro Aitani, Texas A&M University Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Programs, Daisuke Abe, UAB visiting professor; Felipe Pich-Aguilera, Pich Architects; Pasqual Bendicho, Sumo Arquitectes; Merce Berengue, Roldan + Berengue arqts; Yoshihide Kobanawa, KOBFUI Architects.
We want to give as well big thanks to all our professors: Design studio professors Miguel Roldan, Miquel Rodriguez, Katrin Baumgarten and Zana Bosnic. History Research Seminar Professor Jelena Prokopljevic; Building Technology Seminar Professor Pia Wortham; Ivan Blasi Field Studies seminar and travels Professor; Anna Sala travel professor; Spanish Professors Marta Molina and Alicia Puche.
Design Studio Final Presentations: December 12-13
Project site: Placa de Gaudi: The site for this semester’s project was located directly across from Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia – the church itself getting upwards of 4.6 million visitors a year and the surrounding area much more. The students were asked to propose a design for a museum on the site, which currently hosts a landscaped plaza with a large reflection pons in the center.
Between the two studios of Miguel Roldan and Miquel Rodriguez, the students designed proposals that could address the large amounts of visitors to the area as well as complement the adjacent Sagrada Familia.
Design Studio Projects
Learning from the City:
Part of the curriculum for students this semester was learning about local and regional architecture through site and office visits. Along with the accompanying lecture series, they were able to hear about the specific design strategies of many local architects and understand the building methods and materials specific to the Catalan region of Spain.
Montjuic: On the nearby hill of Montjuic, the students were led by Ivan Blasi from Placa España to Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion and around the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. Then they explored the back side of the hill including the Montjuic Castle and Jardins del Mirador.
Madrid: Within the third week of being in Barcelona, the students took a train to Madrid for a 5-day field studies immersion. Ivan Blasi and Zana Bosnic guided them around the city as well as through the nearby historic city of Toledo. Memorable visits in Madrid included the Royal Palace, Caixa Forum by Herzog & de Meuron, El Prado Museum by Rafael Moneo, Madrid Rio by Burgos & Garrido, and the Matadero.
Park Guell: The visit began with a scenic hike to the bunkers which overlook the extents of Barcelona. Ivan Blasi then lead the students through Park Guell and explained the importance of this park to the residents of Barcelona and Gracia. Gaudi’s ceramics and nature-inspired structure created a public gathering for the residents, and were also enjoyed by the students.
Villa Urania-SUMO Arquitects: In early October, the students took a trip to the neighborhood of Sarrià-Sant Gervasito to tour SUMO Arquitect’s Villa Urania. This 19th century home once belonged to the astronomer Josep Comas i Solà and was particularly interesting in its renovation as a civic center because of its large southwest facade that hosts a smart screen shading system. This corridor is used as a buffer between inside and outside, cooling the space in the summer, and heating them in the winter. It also takes advantage of its long narrow footprint, while still maintaining a sense of privacy for the adjacent apartments.
The Netherlands: October 12-19: No stone was left unturned in the student’s visit to the Netherlands which was held October 12-19 and led by Ivan Blasi and Anna Sala. Students walked, biked and boated through the cities of Rotterdam, The Hague, Delft, Utrecht and Amsterdam in order to visit the works of the “Super Dutch”: OMA, MVRDV, West 8, Felix Claus, Mecanoo, Enric Miralles, Richard Meier and Gerrit Rietveld. The visit informed the students’ of the history and context of each project so that they would have a better understanding of Dutch design.
Ceramica Cumella: Visiting the Ceramica Cumella facility gave the students exposure to the long-standing tradition of ceramics in Catalan architecture. Toni Cumella guided the students through the design and manufacturing process of creating ceramics for various architectural applications from the past designs of La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell to the upcoming project of Renzo Piano. Toni explained the richness that ceramics can bring to a project as he explained the process of forming the design, choosing the colors and understanding the impact its’ application will have.
Toni Girones: During a trip to the office of renowned architect Toni Girones, he gave the students a presentation on projects relevant to the work they were doing in studio. It was clear through his firm’s work that they are very conscious of building with nature, not in opposition to it. At the same time, the sensitivity of their designs result in bold projects where the architect is not the only designer but acts as an intermediate between the site and the people.
Escofet: ESCOFET is a Barcelona based company specializing in the design and manufacturing of urban elements and concrete. The students toured the facilities, getting to see the process of mixing, pouring and finishing the concrete elements.
After seeing the manufacturing process, students experienced the design process by creating their own urban furniture, then discussed their designs and received feedback from the ESCOFET team.
EMBT: Architectural collages and the context of Barcelona was showcased as the students visited the offices of EMBT. Thank you to the office for allowing us to tour.
Fall 2018 Studio Lecture Series
This semester, students got to hear from a range of Barcelona based practitioners, working in the discipline of architecture, specializing in a range of different sectors.
- Roger Miralles
- Enric Massip
- Robert Brufau
- Manuel Colominas
- Alberto Veiga
All the semester summary text is written by our Fall 2018 Graduate Architecture Students Solene Clavel from Clemson University and Rachel Henry from Texas A&M univeristy. Thank you!
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