Competition for the Film Theatre and Library of Catalonia an Overview of the City Derived from the Process of Architectural Design

Abstract

This discussion proposes an overview of the city derived from the process of architectural design. In it the concept of a city which exists implicitly in the sketches of buildings the urban context is deciphered. In this research only ideas competitions are analysed. The specific context of them allows for an effective comparison in different ways of seeing. In these study cases, varied visions of the city are advanced in relation to identical locations and programmes. We focus on the Competition of Film Library of Catalonia convened in 2004. First, we study the previous urban context, of the building in Barcelona. Secondly, we catalogue and graphically analyse the material of each of the teams. We determine the point of view chosen in relation to the city. And finally we map the real city, the represented and the imagined. In conclusion, there is an evolution from the abstraction of the render to the photomontage. This introduces the concept of the city “photoshop” enunciated by Koolhaas. Graphic design not only describes architecture, and hence the city, but reflections and advertisements are part of its conceptual essence. These changing facades present their reference in the building-advertisement of Venturi and incorporate the city of mirrors of Baudrillard.