Architect Oriol Bohigas, father of the "Barcelona School", dies

Architect, urban planner and thinker died on Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at the age of 95. Oriol Bohigas was one of the founders of Group R (1951-1961), which aimed to spread the current artistic, cultural, economic and social trends in Europe and one of the fathers of the well-known Model Barcelona.

Oriol Bohigas was born on December 20, 1925 in Barcelona. In 1943 he entered the Barcelona School of Architecture, where he graduated in 1951 and after completing his studies, he became a founding member of the R Group together with other architects of different generations, with an interest. special in recovering the spirit of modern architecture that had been banished as a result of the officialdom of the Franco regime. At the same time, he co-founded the MB studio with Josep Maria Martorell, which would be the seed of what would become MBM in 1962 with the incorporation of David Mackay as an associate.

During the second half of the 20th century, the studio became one of the most prolific and relevant architectural firms in Catalonia and the rest of Spain, with international commissions. At the academic level, after being a professor at the Barcelona School of Architecture, he was elected director in 1977, in a period of important renewal and prestige that will further substantiate the foundations of what Bohigas himself had christened. years before as "Barcelona School". Later, he held various positions in Barcelona City Council, where he stood out as the architect and urban planner of the great change of the Barcelona Olympics. His approaches stand out for a new way of understanding public space in the city. An intellectual reference during his years of professional practice, he has been distinguished with awards such as the Creu de Sant Jordi of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Ciutat de Barcelona Prize or the National Architecture Prize, among other awards.