On 21 May at 12:00, Josep Lluís Mateo will be talking about the Filmoteca de Catalunya (Film Theatre of Catalonia), its brief and its relation with the urban setting, via Zoom and YouTube Streaming.

This talk is intended principally for students in the sixth semester of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Zagreb and the Architecture Department of the Civil Engineering Faculty at the University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, who this year are designing a building of a similar size and brief in a built-up urban area. It will also be followed by professionals in the sector and teachers.

The Filmoteca de Catalunya is located in Barcelona’s historical El Raval district, an area which, despite the major process of transformation and modernization carried out in recent years, retains its dense, popular and, at times, even suffocating port character.

The Filmoteca reflects the ambivalence of its exis­tence. It addresses the structures of the past without concealing the force of its presence. Its relation with the setting was determinant in defining the volume of the construction. The building compresses the narrow, complex existing structures and, as a counterpoint, the side façades create a new and intimate space: a series of porches protected by projections.