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Thoughts on architecture, cities, and politics

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Category: previously published

Revisit: Casa Batlló

[Originally published in The Architectural Review December / January 2026] The year 2026 marks 100 years since the death of … More

architectural tourism, Barcelona, Casa Batlló, Gaudí, Revisit, The Architectural Review

Well-Rounded Well-Being: The Low-Carbon Bioclimatic Architecture of the Balearic Housing Institute

[Originally published in Kuroishi, Izumi, ed. Post-War Public Housing and Well-Being: Modernity, Economic Recovery, and Social Change. New York: Routledge, … More

bioclimatic, construction, IBAVI, social housing, sustainability, well-being

Revisit: La Fábrica

[Originally published in The Architectural Review August 2025] Ricardo Bofill lived and worked in La Fábrica until his death in … More

adaptive re-use, La Fábrica, politics, Ricardo Bofill, Taller de Arquitectura, The Architectural Review

Two-Timing Tower

The new training tower recently completed at Barcelona’s Vall d’Hebron fire station, designed by local architect Carles Enrich, plays a … More

Barcelona, Bauwelt, brick, Carles Enrich, concrete, tower, training facility

Radiotherapy and Hemodialysis Center

[Originally published in The Architectural Review, April 2025] While hospitals naturally require particular sanitary conditions, they must also accommodate people … More

Baas Arquitectura, brick, Casa SOLO, Catalonia, healthcare, The Architectural Review

The Rise and Fall of Barcelona: From Architectural Tourism to Touristic Architecture

[Originally published in OnSite Review 46] Has anyone ever noticed how often the word visitor is used by architecture students … More

architectural tourism, Barcelona, Onsite Review, overtourism, tourism, touristic architecture

Outrage: MACBA goes massive and public space suffers

[Originally published in The Architectural Review online. Versión en castellano sigue a continuación.] The multicultural working-class neighbourhood of El Raval, … More

Barcelona, macba, outrage, politics, privatization, public space, The Architectural Review, urbanism, zoning

Espacios ambiguos

Espacios versátiles, flexibles e indefinidos, hacia una arquitectura doméstica sostenible y resiliente. [Publicado originalmente en Poch, Marta, editora: Vivienda en … More

ambiguous space, Barcelona, dwelling unit, flexibility, housing, IMPSOL-AMB, social housing, versatility, well-being

Ambiguous Spaces

Versatile, flexible, undefined spaces: towards a sustainable and resilient domestic architecture [Originally published in Marta Poch, ed.: Housing in the … More

ambiguous space, Barcelona, dwelling unit, flexibility, housing, IMPSOL-AMB, social housing, versatility, well-being

Intermediary Space and Free Play

[Originally published in de Aedibus 110: CLR Architectes] By their ability to offer a threshold between the city and the … More

CLR Architectes, de Aedibus, Free play, Intermediary space, Quart, Switzerland

A Conversation with Bajet Giramé

[Originally published in Bauwelt 24.2024] This year’s Manifesta is being held for the first time throughout a large metropolitan area. … More

architects, Bajet Giramé, Barcelona, Bauwelt, Manifesta

Just another earth brick in the wall

[Originally published in the September 2024 issue of The Architectural Review] Comfort is the reason we construct most buildings. The … More

architecture, bioclimatic, climate change, construction, Eivissa, housing, Ibiza, Peris+Toral, renewable-energy, sustainability, The Architectural Review

Everyday Camouflage in Suburbia

[Originally published in Bauwelt 9.2024] The suburban single-family house has long been promoted as the ideal residential building type; as … More

Bauwelt, camouflage, house, Madrid, OF Architects & Ignacio G. Galán, suburbia

Form Follows Footwear

[Originally published in The Architectural Review April 2024] Plaza Gomila, a small urban square in Palma on the Mediterranean island … More

Camper, El Terreno, GRAS Reynés Arquitectos, MVRDV, Palma de Mallorca, Plaza Gomila, The Architectural Review

Greetings from Barcelona

[Last December, Bauwelt Magazine asked their contributors to send them a postcard from their hometown along with a new year’s greeting addressing … More

Barcelona, Bauwelt, macba, public space, Raval

Making a Difference

[Originally published in DETAIL Magazine 5.2023] Project Gomila is a micro-urban reconstruction initiative by the owners of the Spanish global … More

Color, DETAIL magazine, Incremental Urbanism, Micro Urbanism, MVRDV, Palma de Mallorca, Project Gomila

La comida es un medio para hablar de espacios e infraestructuras

[Originalmente publicado en Bauwelt 11.2023] Bajo el título FOODSCAPES, el pabellón español presenta un examen del contexto agroarquitectónico y analiza … More

Bauwelt, foodscapes, Spain, Venice Biennale

The Post-Olympic Transformation of Barcelona

[Originally published in Heide Wessely and Sandra Hofmeister, editors: Barcelona: Urban Architecture and Community Since 2010. Munich: Edition DETAIL, 2023] … More

architecture, Barcelona, Edition DETAIL, politics, tourism, urbanism

Sharing School

[Originally published in Bauwelt 5.2023. Photos by Aitor Estévez] Barcelona has some of the densest neighborhoods in Europe, so it … More

Barcelona, Bauwelt, community, Poblenou, school, SUMO Arquitectes

Up Close and Personal

[Originally published in Bauwelt 4.2023] One of the growing problems facing Spain today is the ongoing depopulation of its interior … More

Aragon, Auditorium, Bauwelt, brick, Magén Arquitectos, small town

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Criticalista collects Rafael Gomez-Moriana's writings on architecture and the built environment. All photographs by the author unless indicated otherwise.

©2014 Rafael Gomez-Moriana. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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