The Spanish architect Oriol Bohigas, who died November 30 at the age of 95, led the remarkable urban transformation of Barcelona that culminated in 1992 when the city was host to the Summer Olympics. He took charge of Barcelona's urban planning in 1980, when he joined the first democratically-elected city government of Socialist Mayor Narcís Serra, following the end of Spain's four decades of dictatorship. His programs revitalized the city's degraded medieval core, regenerated post-industrial sites and the working class periphery, and reconnected the city to the Mediterranean.
He brought an architect's sensibility to the task, converting planning issues into specific architectural projects, over 145 in all, including elegantly-designed urban plazas and new parks festooned with monumental works of sculpture by the likes of Richard Serra, Eduardo Chillida, and Joan Miró. His master plan for the Olympic Village, a model urban enclave along the restored beach front, combined the post-modern urbanism of Aldo Rossi with Modernist values of light, space and air, mixing the boulevards and streets of Barcelona's 19th century urban plan by Ildefons Cerdà with the open spaces of superblocks.
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.