CaixaForum Barcelona
The CaixaForum is a museum and auditorium in the Catalan city of Barcelona . It is located in the building of the former Fàbrica Casaramona textile factory . In the CaixaForum, which opened in 2002, exhibitions with the most varied and changing themes of contemporary art are shown. The CaixaForum Barcelona is a cultural and social part of the social foundation Fundació ”la Caixa” from la Caixa , Europe's largest savings bank.
location
The building is located at the foot of Montjuïc in the Sants-Montjuïc district on Avinguda de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia .
history
The building was commissioned by the industrialist Casimir Casaramona , a pioneer in the use of electrically operated machines. The Spanish architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch was commissioned to build the factory in 1909. Puig i Cadafalch was one of the most important architects of Catalan Art Nouveau . The brick building with cast iron ornaments was created in the style of medieval castles. The factory building was groundbreaking in terms of fire protection and was long considered a benchmark for modern working conditions in Spain.
The building was inaugurated in 1913. As early as 1919, however, the textile factory moved and the building was empty. From 1940 to 1992 it was used as a police post by the city of Barcelona. In 1963 the Sparkasse la Caixa became the owner of the building, which in 1976 was protected as a national monument.
In 1996, planning began for a museum under the direction of Francisco Asarta , an expert in the restoration of Art Nouveau buildings. During the renovation of the building, the focus was on maintaining the original structure, color and architectural style. The concept was to relocate a modern extension with a new entrance in the basement under a historic building, based on the famous model of the “Grand Louvre ” in Paris. An auditorium with 300 seats was added as an extension .
The approximately 3,000 m² exhibition space is flooded with light through roof openings. The entrance area was designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki , and his handling of simple geometric shapes and the play with shadow and light is striking. Isozaki designed the underground entrance area with sculptural, tree-like roofs made of glass and steel. Their complex shape contrasts with the strictly vertical structure of the old building facade.
In 2002 the CaixaForum Barcelona was opened. It offers a wide range of activities for the public, from music and visual arts to social programs, education and the humanities - entry is free.
The room installation behind the bone is counted / SCHMERZRAUM, 1941-1983 by Joseph Beuys can be seen in a permanent exhibition .
swell
- Fundació La Caixa (in Catalan and Spanish)
- CaixaForum Barcelona (in German)
Web links
- CaixaForum Barcelona. Official Website (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ caixaforum.com : coleccion , accessed June 6, 2017
Coordinates: 41 ° 22 ′ 16.8 ″ N , 2 ° 8 ′ 59.1 ″ E