A newly released short film, ‘To think conventionally at La Fábrica would be impossible,’ offers a look inside La Fábrica, presenting the former cement factory as the active working studio of Spanish practice Bofill Taller de Arquitectura it is today. Directed by Albert Moya, a filmmaker known for a series of architectural video portraits, the film moves between archival material and contemporary footage, situating the building within architects’ daily rhythms.

Early sequences draw from original photographs taken before renovation, showing the abandoned industrial structure in a state of decay. Concrete silos, conveyors, and load-bearing walls appear weathered and partially overtaken by dense vegetation, with trees and large plants emerging through openings in the structure and settling into its cavities.

all images via ‘To think conventionally at La Fábrica would be impossible’ by Albert Moya

Archival Drawings Trace the Cement Factory’s Transformation

Intercut with these photographs in the film are original hand-drafted architectural drawings of La Fábrica from the archive of Bofill Taller de Arquitectura. Elevations, axonometric views, and construction documents appear briefly on screen, their graphite lines and annotations conveying the precision of the initial transformation. The drawings register the building as a working document, with structure, circulation, and sectional depth rendered through measured linework.

These archival materials sit alongside footage by Albert Moya of the building as it stands today. The camera moves through tall interior volumes and exterior courtyards where concrete walls, staircases, and voids remain dominant. Light enters through large openings and irregular apertures, revealing the thickness of walls and the layered construction of the former factory.

archival photographs show the cement factory before renovation

bofill taller’s Contemporary Practice in a Historic Frame

The present-day sequences focus on the daily work of the studio’s architects. Teams gather around large tables, review drawings pinned to walls, and work at computer stations set against monumental concrete backdrops. Screens show three-dimensional models and augmented reality tools in use, while nearby, physical scale models are assembled by hand.

Throughout the video, the building remains an active workspace rather than a static backdrop. The long tables, shelves, and model-making areas sit directly within the former industrial volumes, their proportions shaped by the original factory layout. The coexistence of archival imagery, hand drawings, and contemporary digital tools situates La Fábrica as a site where past construction and present practice occupy the same physical ground, observed through its materials, spaces, and ongoing use.

concrete silos, walls, and voids define the character of the former industrial complex

the architects are shown working within La Fábrica’s monumental interiors

hand drawing remains part of the daily workflow inside the studio

digital modeling and augmented reality tools appear alongside physical models

daylight enters through large openings to reveal the thickness of the structure

historic architecture and contemporary practice occupy the same spaces

project info:

name: To think conventionally at La Fábrica would be impossible

architects: Bofill Taller de Arquitectura | @bofillarquitectura

location: Sant Just Desvern, Spain

filmmaker: Albert Moya | @albert__moya

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To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Galerie Philia presents STRATES, a large-scale exhibition staged across two of France’s most emblematic brutalist landmarks: Jacques Kalisz’s Mont d’Est car park and Ricardo Bofill’s Espaces Abraxas in Noisy-le-Grand, Grand Paris. On view until November 30th, 2025, the show reflects on a decade of curatorial exploration that has seen the gallery bring contemporary design into conversation with architecture, philosophy, and civic life.

Since its founding in 2015, Galerie Philia has become known for situating contemporary design within charged architectural settings, from Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse in Marseille to Oscar Niemeyer’s MAC Niterói in Brazil. STRATES continues this approach by transforming Kalisz’s monumental car park into an experimental exhibition space, reinterpreting the raw concrete geometry of the site through design. ‘Our curatorial approach has always been to place contemporary design in dialogue with charged architectural sites rather than neutral white cubes,’ says Philia’s co-founder Ygaël Attali. ‘When we encountered Jacques Kalisz’s Mont d’Est car park, we felt the same shock of recognition: an extraordinary piece of brutalist architecture, at once monumental and fragile, whose latent potential could be reactivated through design.’

all images by studio brinth

STRATES reimagines grand paris’s ruins as living narratives

Originally conceived as a vision of futuristic living on Paris’s periphery, Noisy-le-Grand continues to reflect the remnants of its post-war utopian ideals, lending symbolic weight to Philia’s decision to situate the STRATES exhibition there. ‘Our aesthetic often oscillates between brutalist geometry and wabi-sabi imperfection,’ Attali comments. ‘Noisy-le-Grand embodies this duality in a unique way: Ricardo Bofill’s Espaces Abraxas, just next door, are monumental, almost operatic — a vision of the future as a utopian theater. Jacques Kalisz’s Mont d’Est parking, by contrast, is raw, infrastructural, and today in a visibly fragile state. That fragility makes it even more compelling to us: the cracks, stains, and erosion of the concrete are not defects but traces of time, revealing the human destiny of the structure.’

Far from treating the site as a neutral container, STRATES uses its imperfections as material. ‘For us, beauty lies not only in form but in narrative,’ Attali explains. ‘The Mont d’Est car park offers both: its helicoidal ramps and raw textures are visually powerful, but equally important is the story it tells of collective ambition, decline, and potential rebirth.’ This approach continues the gallery’s long-standing refusal of the white cube model. ‘We do not mute or mutilate the site; we embrace it as part of the proposition itself,’ he adds. ‘In Noisy-le-Grand, this means that the traces of time on Kalisz’s structure are not erased but activated, allowing the works of design to resonate within a larger reflection on modernity, fragility, and continuity.’ Across the street, Bofill’s Abraxas ensemble, still layered with cinematic mythology, forms a counterpoint. ‘It offers a different yet complementary vision — monumental, theatrical, and still inhabited — forming a dialogue across the neighborhood that amplifies the resonance of the exhibition,’ Attali notes.

Galerie Philia presents STRATES, a large-scale exhibition staged across two brutalist landmarks

Site-specific commissions and dialogues with architecture

While the exhibition retraces Philia’s decade-long journey through key works from its roster of artists, several new commissions respond directly to the architecture. ‘Morghen Studio has developed a monumental light installation echoing the spiral geometry of the ramps, transforming circulation into a luminous journey,’ shares Attali. ‘Lucas and Tyra Morten have created seating elements that directly engage with the car park’s structural language. And Milla Vaahtera has designed a lamp that departs from her typically poetic and enchanted vocabulary, embracing instead a colder and more geometric expression.’

STRATES also forms part of a wider civic and cultural shift in Noisy-le-Grand, where the city and local public development company SOCAREN are rethinking how its monumental modernist fabric can evolve. ‘Noisy-le-Grand is emblematic of the late-20th-century ambition to create self-sufficient urban satellites around Paris,’  Attali points out. ‘Today, it is undergoing a process of revaluation: local officials are seeking to revitalise these iconic but underused spaces, making them more accessible to cultural and civic life.’

The exhibition is also rooted in community, involving local residents in its organization and guided visits. ‘We wanted the show not to be parachuted in from outside but truly integrated into the local fabric,’ Philia’s co-founder reflects. ‘In five years, I imagine this neighborhood as a place where architectural heritage is not demolished but reactivated, where the extraordinary vision of architects like Kalisz and Bofill becomes the foundation for new forms of urban vitality.’

Bofill’s Abraxas ensemble is still layered with cinematic mythology

the show reflects on a decade of curatorial exploration

Silver Light by Henry Wilson

Galerie Philia has become known for situating contemporary design within charged architectural settings

transforming Kalisz’s monumental car park into an experimental exhibition

Nautile by Elsa Foulon

several new commissions respond directly to the architecture

Folds by Laura Pasquino

the exhibition is also rooted in community, involving local residents in its organization and guided visits

STRATES also forms part of a wider civic and cultural shift in Noisy-le-Grand

project info:

name: STRATES – Galerie Philia’s 10th Anniversary Exhibition

dates: October 28th – November 30th, 2025

locations: Espaces d’Abraxas & Parking Jacques Kalisz (Mont d’Est), Noisy-le-Grand, Grand Paris, France

curation: Galerie Philia | @galerie.philia (Ygaël and Yaïr Attali)

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The new Centre de Congrès, designed by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, has been completed on the Rabat campus of Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique in Morocco. Opened in autumn 2024, the building marks the first phase of the campus master plan and establishes a civic presence for the university, while supporting a range of academic, cultural, and public programming.

Located between two distinct zones of the campus, the building occupies a transitional site and functions as a spatial connector. A sequence of tiled porticos marks the approach from both directions, drawing the same material language of the exterior paving into the lobby and gathering areas. This continuity between inside and out is key to the architectural logic, reinforcing the idea of permeability through a deliberate treatment of surface and threshold.

image © Gregori Civera

porous geometries by bofill taller de arquitectura

With the Centre de Congrès in Rabat, Morocco, the team at Bofill Taller de Arquitectura creates a hinge between the university’s main axis and a denser cluster of academic buildings. By resolving this moment of connection, the project plays an infrastructural and symbolic role. On the urban level, it serves as a passageway. On the architectural level, it articulates a calm interplay between form, volume, and use.

The architects approach the program with a clear geometric strategy, arranging the plan around a square and a circle. At the center, a cubic auditorium defines the main performance space. Encircling it, a sweeping curved wall houses smaller conference rooms, lounges, and auxiliary facilities. These are interwoven with shaded walkways, open patios, and areas for informal gathering.

The building’s outer ring is defined by arches that rise from the ground at the four corners and lift away elsewhere, creating shaded porticoes while maintaining openness across the facades. This strategy provides both scale and porosity, offering a sense of arrival without enclosing the building entirely. Meanwhile, it allows for cross-ventilation and varying light conditions throughout the day.

the Centre de Congrès is located at a key junction between two areas of the Rabat campus

carved arches enclose new Centre de Congrès

Materials within the Centre de Congrès in Morocco were selected by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura for consistency and clarity. Bright ceramic tiles along the walls, floors, and street-level paving reflect the light and establish a visual rhythm across the site. In contrast, interior finishes rely on a warm, restrained palette, with custom furniture and lighting supporting the broader design intention.

The interior of the main auditorium at the Centre de Congrès is defined by a sense of controlled monumentality. Seating is arranged in a precise fan formation around a central stage, beneath a vast circular oculus that casts an even, diffuse glow across the space. This luminous ceiling element flattens the visual field, drawing the eye upward while distributing light evenly across the stepped seating. Walls are rendered in a deep green tone, matched by the upholstered chairs, creating a hushed and immersive environment.

Bofill Taller de Arquitectura organizes the building around a circular wall enclosing a square auditorium

porticos and tiled surfaces create visual and physical continuity across indoor and outdoor areas

grand arches touch the ground at the corners and lift away elsewhere for a porous facade

the project supports events from academic lectures to public performances and exhibitions

the design emphasizes clarity of circulation and flexibility of use

the Centre de Congrès contributes to the identity and connectivity of the university master plan

project info:

name: Centre de Congrès Rabat

architect: Bofill Taller de Arquitectura | @bofillarquitectura

location: Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Rabat, Morocco

photography: © Gregori Civera | @gregori_civera

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Barcelona-based architecture studio Bofill Taller de Arquitectura unveils a masterplan for the Royal Arts Complex (RAC) in Riyadh, introducing a bold architectural anchor within King Salman Park — an initiative that reimagines the former military airport with a vast green urban center. The RAC, currently under construction, is emerging as a constellation of cultural venues stretched along a 1.5-kilometer central boulevard. This axis acts as a connective thread between city and park, delineating a threshold where urban density begins to unravel into the open expanse of desert.

The strategy fragments the Royal Arts Complex into thirteen distinct components, each designed to support a different facet of cultural life. The ensemble includes a National Theatre, smaller theaters, an amphitheater, a cinema hall, and a Museum of Civilizations — each interlinked yet independent, forming a self-sufficient cultural ecosystem. Artist studios, master-craft workshops, and academies for music and visual arts further extend the program, reinforcing the site’s pedagogical role alongside its exhibitionary one.

Bofill Taller de Arquitectura designs the RAC for Riyadh’s King Salman Park | visualization courtesy KSP

bofill taller de arquitectura plans for riyadh desert

The team at Bofill Taller de Arquitectura responds to the climate of Riyadh through the Royal Arts Complex’s material palette, which favors warm desert tones that absorb and reflect the landscape surrounding King Salman Park. Buildings are carefully calibrated to balance mass and void, casting deep shadows while allowing light to penetrate public squares and patios. This approach tempers the sun’s intensity while creating a tactile connection between architecture and terrain, rooting each structure in its arid context without overt mimicry.

Landscape design articulates three concentric zones that transition from the city’s edge into the park’s interior. The outermost plateau retains a raw, desert-like quality populated with native vegetation. Closer in, the sculptural garden provides a curated field of public artworks and architectural fragments. At the core lies the boulevard itself, animated by mineral surfaces, shaded walkways, and clusters of greenery that soften the spatial rhythm between buildings.

thirteen cultural venues are linked by a fifteen-kilometer central boulevard | visualization courtesy KSP

monumentality in fragments

Bofill Taller de Arquitectura integrates the Royal Arts Complex into Riyadh’s urban fabric through its proximity to the Loop, a new transportation system that orbits the entire 16-square-kilometer park. Positioned at the Loop’s western edge, the RAC becomes an access point, or cultural hinge, between the park’s interior and the broader metropolis. The placement suggests continuity over isolation, encouraging movement between programmed venues and the surrounding green space.

The architectural language in Riyadh resists monolithic gestures in favor of spatial diversity. The thirteen volumes of the complex vary in scale and character, some austere and orthogonal, others more sculptural and expressive. This fragmented monumentality offers both a sense of civic grandeur and an accessible rhythm of public spaces. The design invites exploration, walking, and lingering — an urban promenade as much as a cultural destination.

performance spaces, museums, and academies unite within a unified masterplan | image © Gregori Civera

The architects treat the main boulevard of Riyadh’s Royal Arts Complex as a performative spine. The boulevard links theaters, museums, and studios while serving as a public stage in its own right — hosting events, installations, and informal gatherings. Five squares punctuate the route, each with its own microclimate and spatial identity, offering rhythm and pause in an otherwise linear experience.

The Spanish studio’s work in Riyadh reflects a sensitivity to context that transcends stylistic mimicry. The RAC is not a pastiche of tradition, nor a purely globalized statement — it occupies a middle ground, drawing from desert typologies, local materials, and the logic of the oasis without becoming nostalgic. The project positions itself as a contemporary heritage site, one that aligns architecture with environmental and cultural continuity.

the landscape design features three concentric layers, from desert plateau to inner gardens | image © Gregori Civera

warm desert tones will root the architecture in the climate of Riyadh | image © Gregori Civera

the complex will connect to the loop transport system encircling King Salman Park | image © Gregori Civera

public squares, patios, and shaded paths will animate the spaces between buildings | image © Gregori Civera

the team arranges volumes to create a sense of civic monumentality without uniformity | image © Gregori Civera

project info:

name: Royal Arts Complex | @kingsalmanpark.sa

architect: Bofill Taller de Arquitectura | @bofillarquitectura

location: King Salman Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

area: 320,000 square meters

status: under construction

photography: © Gregori Civera | @gregori_civera

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Rising from the verdant mountainside of Dhërmi, Albania, Bofill Taller de Arquitectura’s Red Sol Resort commands attention with its bold hue and fortress-like silhouette. From afar, the striking geometric massing appears to float above the lush terrain. Winding exterior stairways, rooftop terraces, and dramatic walkways carve out a labyrinthine journey through the cascading volumes of the resort, offering guests a variety of vantage points overlooking the shimmering Ionian Sea.

all images courtesy of Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

stairs, bridges, and pathways define Red Sol Resort in albania

Designing for the Albanian Riviera, the Spanish firm Bofill Taller de Arquitectura begins by addressing its formidable topography: jagged rock formations, steep mountain slopes, and dense undergrowth rooted by pine and cypress trees. Red Sol Resort responds by overlaying a precise fine grid on the ground plane, organizing a series of squares in a plan that systematically adapts to the challenging contours of the site. In section, these volumes shift up and down, producing the diverse spatial qualities needed for the hotel pavilions, apartments, and villas of the resort.

As the architecture zigzags down toward the water, its vertical movement mirrors the rhythm of the surrounding mountains. Painted in a vivid earthy red, the resort with its fortress-like presence contrasts with the green and blue around. Interconnected by a network of exterior stairs, bridges, and pathways, the various blocks include pools, patios, and secluded lookouts. 

the resort rises from the verdant mountainside of Dhërmi, Albania

Red Sol Resort commands attention with its bold hue and fortress-like silhouette

winding exterior stairways, rooftop terraces, and dramatic walkways carve out a labyrinthine journey

offering guests a variety of vantage points

Bofill Taller de Arquitectura begins by addressing the topography

Red Sol Resort responds to the terrain by overlaying a precise, fine grid on the ground plane

a series of squares systematically adapts to the challenging contours

from afar, the striking geometric massing appears to float above the lush terrain

project info:

name: Red Sol Resort

architects: Bofill Taller de Arquitectura | @bofillarquitectura

location: Dhërmi, Albania

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Hungarian photographer Márton Mogyorósy casts his lens to the vibrant walls of La Muralla Roja (The Red Wall). The postmodern residential complex designed by late architect Ricardo Bofill in Calpe, Spain, becomes the muse for this new photo series. The design, fortress-like housing clusters of courtyards within, bears reference to the architecture of Arab Mediterranean, notably the adobe towers of North Africa, and reinterpreting the tradition of the Kasbah. Its striking silhouette enveloped with an array of colors both contrast and complement the engulfing natural context. The series spans drone photography to capture aerial views of the site’s geometric plan, profiles of the vast walls and labyrinthine interiors, and detail shots abstracting dynamic interplays of light and shade.

all images by Márton Mogyorósy

márton Mogyorósy contrasts light and shade

‘My approach to creating architectural surfaces is through a visual language that resembles painterly abstraction,’ notes Márton Mogyorósy. The photographer achieves this by utilizing depth of field, contrast, and shadows. Drawing in inspiration from not only the site, but also the clean and vivid clarity of modernist paintings. In doing so, he seeks to transform photographs into compositions that are striking in their use of color, texture, and line. Here, the angles and modular forms of Ricardo Bofill’s structure built in 1973 are captured under the glow of the sun, bringing about vivid hues and layers of minimalist forms.

Márton Mogyorósy photographs La Muralla Roja

Ricardo Bofill’s design bears reference to the architecture of Arab Mediterranean

labyrinthine interiors

located in Calpe, Spain

Márton Mogyorósy achieves abstraction by utilizing depth of field, contrast, and shadows

an interplay of light and shade

project info:

name: La Muralla Roja
architect: Ricardo Bofill
photographer: Márton Mogyorósy

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom

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The Genius Loci exhibition series has arrived at Les Espaces d’Abraxas, a French postmodern housing project which stands outside of Paris as one of Ricardo Bofill’s oft-forgotten projects. Curator Marion Vignal highlights the 1983-built architecture through a new artistic lens, with a show offering carte blanche to visual artist Samuel Nguyen. For this project Nguyen has specially created a series of works and installations conceived through dialogues with the residents of the housing complex. Presented in the ARC, in a temporary exhibition space that has been inaugurated for the event, the show will be on view from June 17th through June 25th, 2023.

all images © Adrien Dirand | @adriendirand

spotlighting a controversial project by ricardo bofill 

Ricardo Bofill and his team had completed the monumental Les Espaces d’Abraxas, the site of the latest Genius Loci exhibition, in response to a large-scale construction plan aimed at addressing the housing crisis in France during that time. The plan was orchestrated by the socialist government of François Mitterrand to encourage the design of affordable and high-quality housing for a continuously growing population.

Through this project, Bofill aimed to demonstrate that it was possible to design social housing units while maintaining the essence of architectural creativity, breaking away from soulless standardization and functionalism. The facades, crafted from concrete, feature archetypal shapes like arcs, pediments, columns, temples, and amphitheaters, evoking the cultural heritage of the area. Bofill drew inspiration from renowned architects such as the Italian Renaissance’s Andrea Palladio, the French figures François Mansart and Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, as well as the Catalan modernist Antoni Gaudi.

Bofill envisioned this housing complex as an ‘ideal city,’ a place where residents could live, work, and socialize within an environment designed to foster community and conviviality. However, the realization of the Espaces d’Abraxas generated both enthusiasm and criticism. Some criticized the perceived isolation and coldness of the site. Threatened with demolition in the 2000s, the complex was ultimately renovated in 2014 with the involvement of Ricardo Bofill and his architectural firm, Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA).

The Espaces d’Abraxas have served as film sets for numerous films, including Jean-Pierre Mocky’s ‘À mort l’arbitre,’ Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil,’ and most recently, the final installment of the Hunger Games saga.

concrete facades feature archetypal shapes like arcs, pediments, columns, temples, and amphitheaters

Samuel nguyen at les espaces d’abraxas

By choosing Ricardo Bofill’s postmodernist architectural complex, a long-controversial fragment of the new urban landscape, Genius Loci is pursuing its mission of raising public awareness and fostering dialogues among disciplines. The exhibition series was set forth in 2021 by the non-profit organization’s founder and curator Marion Vignal, with the desire to bring new life to forgotten or little-known architectural treasures in resonance with contemporary creation. The Genius Loci exhibition of Samuel Nguyen‘s works is presented in parallel with the Festival Regard Neuf 3.
Bofill drew inspiration from the Italian Renaissance’s Andrea Palladio and Catalan modernist Antoni Gaudi

the housing complex was designed as an ‘ideal city’ where residents could live, work, and socialize

Samuel Nguyen, exhibition view

Samuel Nguyen, exhibition view
Samuel Nguyen, exhibition view
Samuel Nguyen, exhibition view

Samuel Nguyen, exhibition view

project info:

exhibition series: Genius Loci | @geniusloci_experience

artist: Samuel Nguyen

venue: Les Espaces d’Abraxas by Ricardo Bofill | @bofillarquitectura

location: Noisy-le-Grand, France

curator: Marion Vignal | @marionvignal

on view: June 17th — June 25th, 2023

photography: © Adrien Dirand | @adriendirand

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with the passing of iconic architect ricardo bofill (read more here), designboom celebrates his legacy with a collection of some of his most iconic and influential works. the catalan architect transformed the industry following a period of stark modernism, when designers were just beginning to reinvent the practice. with his use of vibrant color and bold geometries, bofill was commonly regarded as one of the most representative postmodernist architects in europe. 

born in barcelona, the work of ricardo bofill (find his studio here) was heavily influenced by his heritage, especially with catalonia’s arab-mediterranean roots. his buildings, with their solid and clustered volumes, often recall the traditional kasbah — a high-walled, typically windowless fortress. he further developed this language with the design of a campus in morocco, during which he studied the logical architectural style of the moroccan cities and plazas. with works even across paris, bofill reinvented neoclassical motifs into postmodernist masterpieces. read on to discover some of ricardo bofill’s most important works.

image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

kafka castle, catalonia

the surreal scale and clustered geometries defined ricardo bofill’s 1968-built ‘castillo kafka,’ or kafka castle. the apartment complex is located outside of barcelona in the region of sant pere de ribes. an homage to author franz kafka, the assemblage of prefabricated cubes was designed and sited entirely through a set of mathematical equations. this rule-based system generated the position of all ninety units, as well as the building’s position on the site. the first equation generated the number of room capsules that plug into the stair towers, while the second equation informed the height of each spiral progression around each tower.

with its volumetric overlapping and complex voids, the kafka castle was one of the early projects that propelled ricardo bofill and his studio onto the international stage.

image © ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

walden 7, catalonia

built in 1975, ricardo bofill’s ‘walden 7’ apartments represent the architect’s earliest ambitions to address the major problems of modern city life. the project takes shape as a cluster of fourteen units gathered around five garden courtyards — all topped by two swimming pools. almost all of the apartments looks outward onto the exterior and interior courtyards. a network of balconies and bridges create a complex spatial depth and variety of experiences.

image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

la fabrica cement factory, barcelona

‘la fabrica’ is a 3,100 square-meter cement factory located near barcelona, spain, which serves as the unique backdrop to ricardo bofill‘s studio and home. the factory, which was first built in the post world war I era, is an architectural timeline of transformative vernacular having expanded through various styles as new functions called for an expanded program. the complex, providing a beautiful and varied series of spaces spanning from brutalist to surrealist with an industrial flavor, underwent a series of processes that converted the existing structure into a studio, gallery, garden, and home- a repurposed city within an abandoned factory slowly engulfed by vegetation.  

image courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura | read more here

muralla roja, alicante

completed in 1973, the muralla roja apartment complex — with its fortress-like façade and vertical silhouette that mimics the contours of the surrounding cliffs — is one of the finest examples of arab-mediterranean architecture. ricardo bofill sought to reinterpret the tradition of the kasbah — a high-walled, typically windowless fortress. the labyrinthine forms of the building evoke a striking constructivist aesthetic, with their ensemble of interconnected patios. each of these outdoor spaces provides access to the building’s 50 apartments, which include studios, as well as two and three-bedroom homes.

photographer andres gallardo once visited the site (see designboom’s coverage here), describing it as a ‘paradise for photographers,’ and commented: ‘the best thing about ‘muralla roja’ is that a photographer could visit it several times and keep taking totally different photos.’ 

image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

université mohammed vi polytechnique, morocco

ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura was commissioned to design the campus for mohammed VI polytechnic university in 2016. the project is sited in benguerir, morocco, 50 miles north of marrakech. the masterplan is organized with a rational and geometric logic, defined by narrow streets, squares, and a central axis. the scheme integrates courtyards, gardens, and semi-covered streets which encourage interactions between students and teachers. this strategy promotes intellectual and social exchange, and strengthening the sense of community.

overall, the project takes influence from the urban design and the architectural style of the moroccan cities — namely the cities surrounding benguerir. ricardo bofill celebrates the rich architectural tradition of moroccan towns like fez, meknes, rabat, and marrakech, and the ksour (an arabic term for ‘castle’).

image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

xanadú, alicante

built in 1971, the xanadú building is one of the first specific developments to come out of the taller’s research in the field of housing that aimed to establish a methodology by which to create geometric elements in space. this building of 18 apartments was a prototype experiment in applying a methodology to the studio’s theory of a garden city in space, and is expressed as one of many large, interconnecting elements.

image © ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

la piràmide, france

this 1976-built monument stands proudly along the catalan highway border between spain and france. the commissioned work began as a vague and ambitious idea, a challenge to break the monotonous and endless miles of tar and concrete which was the ‘autouroutes du sud-est’ highway, which was being constructed at the time. such a concept allowed ricardo bofill to experiment with form and landscape on a large scale, removed from an urban context.

the size and volume of the pyramid was informed by the amount of soil to be removed during the cutting of the highway, which was thus repurposed as infill. the project ultimately took shape as a monumental truncated pyramid with false perspectives and a classical french garden.

image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

axe majeur, paris

axe majeur, cuts across the parisian suburb of cergy-pontoise. the urban monument takes inspiration from the great urban boulevards of the city. it extends for more than three kilometers and ultimately opens onto a sweeping view of paris. the project was realized by a collaborative team of ricardo bofill and israeli artist dani karavan. construction of the massive complex took nearly thirty years, beginning in 1980.

the starting point of the axe is marked by the ‘place des colonnes hubert-renaud,’ with its central belvedere tower. this square is encircled by two semi-circular neoclassical residential buildings, designed by ricardo bofill as a continuation of his references to antiquity among his work.

image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

place de catalogne, paris

located in the parisian neighborhood of montparnasse, the place de catalogne is named to honor the heritage of its architect, barcelona-born ricardo bofill. the social housing project was completed in 1985 as part of a larger urban planning initiative to construct new offices and apartments in the area. the project comprises two large buildings expressed with a neoclassical baroque language. an arcade of columns and pediments monumentally wrap the semi-circular plaza.

image © ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

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acclaimed spanish architect ricardo bofill has passed away aged 82. the news was confirmed today (friday, january 14th) by ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura (RBTA), the studio that bofill founded in 1963.

born in 1939 in barcelona, ricardo bofill went on to lead one of the world’s most notable architecture studios. renowned for his radical approach, bofill’s projects are particularly noted for addressing issues of urban planning on a political and social level. his architectural legacy includes xanadú and la muralla roja in alicante, and la fabrica and walden 7 in barcelona.

 

 

 

 

 

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ricardo bofill has designed over one thousand projects in forty countries. in today’s image-based culture, projects such as la muralla roja have been rediscovered and immortalized thanks to its colorful and iconic aesthetics. throughout bofill’s work, color has played a central role, which can also be seen in buildings such as walden 7 and xanadù.

with his usage of vibrant colors and bold geometries of precast concrete, the late designer has been celebrated as one of the most representative postmodern architects in europe. as such, many of his works express a sense of large-scale experimentation. while his spaces imply a rejection of the strict rules of the classical and modernist styles, he often integrated familiar classical forms, playfully reinventing long-lasting architectural conventions.

RIP maestro.

ricardo bofill dies age 82
image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura
image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

la muralla roja, alicante, spain (1973)
image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

la muralla roja, alicante, spain (1973)

image © salva lopez / courtesy of gestalten, ricardo bofill, gestalten 2019 (also main image)

la piràmide, le perthus, france (1976)
image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

la fabrica, sant just desvern (barcelona), 1975

xanadù, alicante, spain (1971)

image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura, ricardo bofill, gestalten 2019

meritxell sanctuary, andorra, spain (1978)
image © gregori civera / courtesy of ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

The post ricardo bofill dies aged 82 appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

all images by elizaveta ivanova | @ivelizar_

elizaveta ivanova re-envisions ‘la fabrica,’ designed by ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura, as a respectful continuation of the building’s transformative heritage. first built in the post world war I era, the cement factory stands as an architectural timeline of flexible programming, having been transformed by the mid-century architect into a home, studio, and exhibition space. now, the visual designer presents a new vision of the monumental building, preserving many of the original interior elements while proposing a contemporary revitalization. at the same time, ivanova exhibits her mastery of 3D visualization as she digitally models and renders the project, including the overall structure, the interior elements, and its overgrown vegetation. 

presenting her ‘la fabrica’ image series, elizaveta ivanova references a text by ricardo bofill taller: ‘overall, la fabrica stands as a remarkable example of adaptive reuse. its transformation from an impersonal, industrial shell to a hauntingly romantic brutalist wonderland is a masterclass in creative ingenuity. even if, as ricardo bofill maintains, la fabrica ‘will always remain an unfinished work.‘

project info:

project title: re-envision of ricardo bofill’s ‘la fabrica’

visual designer: elizaveta ivanova | @ivelizar_

architect: ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura

project date: october 27th, 2020

The post elizaveta ivanova models and renders ricardo bofill’s home and studio ‘la fabrica’ appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.