08/01/2016

Inauguration of the exhibition ‘La Manzana de la Discordia. El modernismo como transgresión a la regularidad del Eixample’

On 16 December, the History, Architecture and Design Research Group (GRHAD) from UIC Barcelona presented the book La Manzana de la Discòrdia (in reference to Barcelona's "Block of Discord"), a compilation of presentations delivered last year at Casa Lleó Morera, edited by  UIC Barcelona's Dr Judith Urbano.

The book presentation was carried out by the architect Lluís Domènech Girbau  and then the “La Manzana de la Discordia.  El modernismo como transgresión a la regularidad del Eixample”  was inaugurated at the Casa Lleó Morera (Passeig de Gràcia, 35, Barcelona).

This exhibition will be open until 28 February 2016, with guided tours on Fridays at 5 pm and Sundays at 11 am. Exhibition visitors will have a change to see photographs from that period and from today, as well as blueprints and drawings by students from UIC Barcelona's School of Architecture. These works illustrate the explanations and findings, many of which were previously unpublished, derived from research conducted at the Contemporary Municipal Archive of Barcelona, Historic Archives of the City, Archive of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint George, Archive of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Ferdinand and the La Vanguardia newspaper archives, among others.

The "La Mansana de la Discòrdia" project, undertaken by UIC Barcelona's GRHAD, comprises an interdisciplinary group of architects and historians. They include:  Manuel Arenas Vidal, José Juan Barba, Mariola Borrell Escudé, Dr Guillem Carabí Bescós, María José Diez Chueca, Dr Fàtima López Pérez and Dr Judith Urbano, all of whom researched the houses, the owners and the master builders of this block on Passeig de Gràcia between Calle Aragó and Calle Consell de Cent. The GRHAD research group was sure from the beggining that it wanted to study not only the three Modernist properties, but also the other five houses in this block, since they were all in discord with each other, due to their formal and ornamental differences. These were the results of the projects presented by their architects and subsequently accepted by clients.

The GRHAD research group's “La Manzana de la Discordia” project at UIC Barcelona won a research call for new researchers in 2013 which was awarded by the Vice-Rectorate for Research in the same university.

The aim was to research the five houses which the block contains:  Casa Lleó Morera, Casa Mulleras, Casa Bonet, Casa Amatller and Casa Batlló. The aim was not only to research the three Modernist properties, precisely to look at the differences (or discord) there is between them and the other buildings.