On Tuesday 14 June, the book La transformació com a procediment (Transformation as a Procedure), by Dr Guillem Carabí, a lecturer in the Composition Department at UIC Barcelona's School of Architecture, was presented at the Tarragona Branch of the Association of Architects of Catalonia (COAC). The event, which brought together around forty audience members, featured the President of the Tarragona Branch of the COAC, Joan Tous, Tarragona Provincial Council member Mateu Montserrat and Dr Roger Miralles, a lecturer from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili's School of Architecture in Reus.
The book's author, Guillem Carabí, briefly explained his reasons for writing a monograph on Josep M. Jujol's renovation of Casa Bofarull. The main reason, also based on Aldo Rossi's theories, is the author's firm belief that, over the course of their work, and obsessively in their projects, architects always defend one particular architectural choice or strive to resolve one particular issue. This is what lends coherence to the architect's built biography. In this book, the author shows how Jujol used constant transformation, the ongoing, ever unfinished process of architecture, as a force to renovate Casa Bofarull; a characteristic which distinguishes his work from his Modernist contemporaries and likens it to avant-garde artists from the early 20th century. This book, La transformació com a procediment. La reforma de la casa Bofarull (1913-1933), de Josep M. Jujol, stems from a doctoral thesis that the author defended four years earlier at UIC Barcelona.
Afterwards, Professor Miralles commented on the wealth of knowledge La transformació com a procediment holds. Miralles praised the work's scholarly outlook and the numerous references which describe the reformation process. Until now, explained Miralles, Jujol's architecture had always been studied from the point of view of affectivity, of respect for the land, materials, animals or countryside. Carabí's vision, maintained Miralles, transcends what we already know, like a traveller slowly approaching the house, and, over the course of the work, provides a level of erudition that unlocks an understanding of Jujol's architecture. Miralles also thanked the author for rendering the complexity of a doctoral thesis more readable for a wider audience.
The event was closed by council member Mateu Montserrat, Mayor of Pla de Santa Maria.
