02. Grup R. 1952-1961

02/02/2019

Grup R was formed on 21 August 1951. Its members were Oriol Bohigas, Joaquim Gili, Josep Maria Martorell, Antoni de Moragas, Josep Pratmarsó and Josep Maria Sostres, along with José Antonio Coderch and Manuel Valls, who left the group two years later. Josep Antoni Balcells, Francesc Bassó, Guillermo Giráldez and Manuel Ribas joined later in 1953. Finally, new members from 1958 included Pau Monguió and Francesc Vayreda.

The group’s activity began in 1952 and ended in 1961 when it was dissolved. Over those 10 years, they organized four exhibitions and promoted currents of thought that were aligned with the concerns of contemporary artists and critics. Above all, they assumed a leading role in the formation of architectural and design culture in Catalonia, through the direction of the COAC and the FAD and from the magazine Cuadernos de Arquitectura.

Grup R’s first exhibition opened on 6 December 1952 at Galeries Laietanes, displaying work by the group’s members. The second exhibition was held in 1954 and focused on the construction industry at that time. The third, in 1955, gathered the projects designed by students from Barcelona and Madrid for a competition organized by Grup R in response to two different briefs: an enclosure for elephants at a zoo and an all-male residence hall for a university town. In 1957, the members of the group participated in the 4th São Paulo Biennial. The fourth and final exhibition was held on 31 May 1958, which coincided with the closure of the Galeries Laietanes. On display were projects by numerous architects based in Madrid, who were specially invited for the event, such as Alejandro de la Sota, Miguel Fisac, Javier Carvajal and Rafael García de Castro, among others. Different proposals by the group’s members were also exhibited. One week before the opening of this exhibition, from 30 April to 26 May 1958, the course “Economy and Urban Planning” was held, with the collaboration of the Chair of Political Economy and Public Finance at the Faculty of Law of the University of Barcelona.

The following projects were selected, each of which has a QR that connects to the respective explanatory texts:

The headquarters of Editorial Gustavo Gili (1954-1961), designed by Francesc Bassó and Joaquim Gili, was given its own space on the top floor.