The lecture centred on the analysis of the building designed by architect Cèsar Martinell, a cooperative winery in Pinell de Brai, which was planned in 1918, built between 1919-1927 and greatly influenced by the geometric and structural theories of Antoni Gaudí. The geometric analysis was carried out on the basis of the project sketches and plans, all of which are stored in the Historic Archives of the Association of Architects of Catalonia, and the actual construction work, information acquired using a Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS), and found that the geometry consists largely of catenary and parabolic arches, thereby putting Robert Hooke’s curve of equilibrium theory into practice. The scientific basis for calculating these structures was worked out in the Barcelona School of Architecture, under the guidance of Joan Torras i Guardiola. The study shows a geometric correspondence between the project and the construction. As a result, the arches with the largest spans tend to be catenary, while the smaller arches between the naves are predominantly parabolic.

The congress was organised by the Construction History Society of Spain and took place at the Higher Technical School of Architecture (UPV/EHU) in Donosti-San Sebastian, from 3-7 October.