MIRALLES: a tribute to great Catalan architect Enric Miralles
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MIRALLES: a tribute to great Catalan architect Enric Miralles

Miralles Tagliabue EMBT | Benedetta Tagliabue

MIRALLES: a tribute to great Catalan architect Enric Miralles
By Editorial Staff -

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Enric Miralles – an architect, designer, photographer, educator, and visionary who made architecture more accessible to the general public.

In recognition of this important milestone, the Fundació Enric Miralles, with the support of the Municipality of Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya, is presenting MIRALLES, a tribute that will showcase the many facets of the great Catalan architect through a program of exhibitions and activities.

Original, unpublished, and archival materials have been handpicked for the event by curators Benedetta Tagliabue and Joan Roig i Duran.

“[This tribute] is not only intended to commemorate Enric Miralles the man and architect, but also to keep alive his spirit as a visionary, as an experimentalist, as a living example of a particular way of working and seeing the world. Ultimately, it’s about leaving his legacy for future generations,” explains Benedetta Tagliabue.

Aimed at a general audience, MIRALLES is a program of exhibitions and activities that showcases the architect’s legacy through his projects in Catalonia, Barcelona (where he lived and worked), and around the world.
 

As part of the event, the organizers have set up an exhibition trail that takes in discussions, debates, photographs, videos, drawings, models, notebooks, sketches, collages, and – in particular – sites around the city where visitors can get to know the human side of one of the most international of all contemporary Catalan architects.

Curator Joan Roig i Duran explains: “Painstaking efforts have gone into searching the archives for those documents and materials that can best explain Miralles to the public. The tribute is intended to offer an intimate portrait of the man and be accessible to everyone.”

 

Miralles was exceptionally prolific. In just 26 years (1974–2000), he received 62 awards, participated in 68 competitions, and was a finalist in many others. In total, he also worked on 225 installations and projects around the world.

 

THE EVENTS

 

MIRALLES. A quarts de quatre

The historic Saló del Tinell is hosting MIRALLES. A quarts de quatre, an exhibition event that offers a vision of Miralles through what are not only regarded as his four masterpieces, but also as landmarks of modern European architecture:

Igualada Cemetery (1985–1991)

Huesca Sports Pavilion (1994)

Santa Caterina Market (1997)

Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh (2004)

The exhibit design is by Benedetta Tagliabue and Joan Roig i Duran, while the museography was created by the Miralles Tagliabue EMBT architecture studio in collaboration with architect Victoria Garriga. Lighting design was by Maria Güell from La Invisible.

MIRALLES. Photos & Collages

The Center d’Arts Santa Mònica is hosting MIRALLES. Photos & Collages, an exhibition of collages and photomontages that exemplify Miralles’s expressive language. Photographs of family and business trips, photomontages, and projections from the architect’s private collection are being presented in an entirely new way at this exhibition curated by Salvador Gilabert Sanz, professor and project manager at Miralles Tagliabue EMBT.

MIRALLES. To be continued...

The Fundació Enric Miralles is hosting the exhibition MIRALLES. To Be Continued…, featuring projects created by the Miralles Tagliabue EMBT studio over the past twenty years. One of the fundamental goals of the foundation is to preserve the architect’s work, ideas, and creative spirit for the benefit of future generations. Exhibit design is by Victoria Garriga and the Miralles Tagliabue EMBT studio, and is coordinated by Beatriz Mínguez de Molina. The exhibition will also feature reflections by Martha Thorne.

MIRALLES. Perpetuum Mobile

This exhibition event will be staged at Barcelona’s Drawing Museum – Disseny Hub. MIRALLES. Perpetuum Mobile will focus on Miralles the designer, featuring some never-before-seen furniture and other objects, including the Inestable, Dolmen, Troncos, and Tropical tables; the Lelukaappi shelving unit, inspired by the work of architect Alvar Aalto; and a selection of chairs and lamps. Curated by Benedetta Tagliabue and Joan Roig i Duran, and presented with the support of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) with wood donated by AE Maderas, the exhibition will also feature projections showing the furniture designs in action. A good example is the Inestable table, which has no fewer than twenty different configurations. Lighting design is by Maria Güell from La Invisible.

MIRALLES. Converses

This spoken-word event, which will see the participation of educators, professional partners, collaborators, and friends, all of whom knew Miralles either personally or professionally, will take place at the Collegi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC). Program highlights include sessions with Rafael Moneo, Benedetta Tagliabue, Beatriz Colomina, Soraya Smithson, and Carme Pinós.

MIRALLES. A l’escola

Barcelona’s Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura (ETSAB) will be the setting for this exhibition. The focus will be on Miralles’s work as an educator, both in Barcelona and internationally. This exhibition is curated by Carme Ribas and Ton Salvadó.

 

ENRIC MIRALLES MOYA

Enric Miralles Moya (Barcelona 1955 – Sant Feliu de Codines 2000) attended Barcelona’s Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura (ETSAB), graduating in 1978. Between 1973 and 1983, he collaborated with Albert Viaplana and Helio Piñón, while 1984 marked the start of his solo career.

During what’s been termed his first creative period, he worked alongside architect Carme Pinós to design some of his most poetic works, such as the Igualada Cemetery. During the 1980–81 academic year, he was a visiting Fulbright Professor at Columbia University. Two years later, he presented his doctoral thesis, “Things Seen from Left to Right (Without Glasses).” From 1985, he was a professor at the ETSAB, becoming chair of Architecture in 1996.

In 1993, Miralles set up architecture studio EMBT with his wife, Benedetta Tagliabue. Together, the two worked on important and emblematic projects, such as the remodeling of the Santa Caterina Market and the new Scottish Parliament.

In 1990, he was appointed supervisor and professor of the master’s degree programs at the Städelschule in Frankfurt. Two years later, he was appointed to the Kenzo Tange Chair at Harvard University, while simultaneously holding the positions of visiting professor and lecturer at various universities in the United States, including Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands. He was also made a member of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).

 

Among numerous accolades, in 1995 he was awarded the Premio Nazionale di Architettura by the Italian Ministry of Culture, and, in 1996, the Leone d’Oro at the Venice Biennale. In 2002, after his death, he was awarded the Gold Medal by the Collegi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC).

The highly inventive Miralles has been called the enfant terrible of Spanish architecture. He died prematurely in Sant Feliu de Codines in July 2000, at the height of his career.

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AGENDA

MIRALLES. A quarts de quatre…
Dal 15.04.21 al 04.07.2021
Saló del Tinell. Plaça del Rei, 10 Barcellona
3 € 


MIRALLES. Photos & Collages
Dal 15.04.21 al 30.06.21
Centre d’Arts Santa Mònica. La Rambla, 7 Barcellona
Free


MIRALLES. To be continued…
Dal 15.04.21 al 23.12.21
Fondazione Enric Miralles. Passatge de la Pau, 10 bis Barcellona
Free


MIRALLES. Perpetuum Mobile
Dal 27.05.21 al 29.08.21
Disseny Hub. Plaça de les Glòries, 37 Barcellona
3 € 


MIRALLES. Converses
03.06 – 10.06 – 17.06.2021
COAC. Plaça Nova, 5 Barcellona
Free


MIRALLES. A l’escola
Dal 22.09.2021 al 24.11.2021
ETSAB. Av. Diagonal, 649-651 Barcellona
Free

Thanks to © Fundació Enric Miralles
Single credit in description

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