Sandra Moliner Nuño

This article presents the design process and structural analysis for Halls 3, 4, and 6 commissioned by Fira de la Gran Vía in Barcelona. Its objective is to document the complete development of a real structure—from the initial briefing to final execution—highlighting key decisions related to cost, quality, construction speed, and standardization. Rather than simply describing the finished building, the article compares alternative solutions considered at each stage and explains the rationale behind the choices made. Close collaboration between the architectural and structural teams has resulted in a cost-effective solution that has remained relevant twenty-five years after completion. Each structural component is examined in detail, considering its behavior, preliminary sizing, fabrication, transportation, and rapid on-site assembly, all essential under the client’s demanding schedule. It also describes how specific structural details were resolved under project constraints, including instances that required unconventional approaches. Finally, it discusses the role of prestressed longitudinal frames as a strategy for reducing steel consumption. This article underscores the value of integrated architectural and structural thinking in shaping the building from the ground up.

El Pueblo Español de Montjuïc, construido para la Exposición Internacional de Barcelona de 1929, reúne más de 100 reproducciones de edificios emblemáticos de pueblos y ciudades de España. Entre ellos destaca la torre mudéjar, inspirada en la original de Utebo (Zaragoza), cuya singularidad la convirtió en símbolo de la exposición. Igual que el resto de edificios que se encuentran en el recinto del Pueblo Español, la comparación entre original y copia ha sido una fuente de aprendizaje. Nuestro trabajo de investigación se centra en entender y explicar este proceso de alteración, a veces sutil y a veces más profunda, pero que mantiene un nexo entre dos edificios alejados no sólo en el espacio. ¿Qué se conserva, qué se modifica, y qué elementos cambian para integrarse en un entorno distinto? ¿Dónde reside la identidad de estos edificios? Estas son las preguntas que guían nuestro trabajo y que nos permiten reflexionar sobre la reinterpretación arquitectónica en contextos expositivos.

This article presents the design process and subsequent structural analysis for for Halls 3, 4, and 6 of the Fira de la Gran Vía in Barcelona. Close collaboration between the architectural and structural teams resulted in a cost-effective solution that remains relevant twenty-five years after completion. Each structural component is examined in detail, considering its behavior, preliminary sizing, and the rationale behind its fabrication, transportation, and rapid on-site assembly—critical given the client’s tight schedule. This article also describes how structural details were interpreted and realized under the applied stresses and conditions, including instances that required unconventional approaches. Furthermore, the prestressing of the longitudinal frames is presented as a strategy that contributed to reducing the steel structure’s cost during construction. The paper emphasizes the creation of architecture from the ground up, a process often overlooked in the pursuit of a building’s form and function.

In contemporary architectural education, graphic representation plays a key role in student education. To translate abstract ideas into coherent visual images is a fundamental skill in architecture. While hand-drawing has been essential for developing this ability, digital tools have challenged traditional methods, changing both the tools and ways of thinking in architecture. Instead of viewing manual and digital techniques as opposites, this paper defends that they should be understood as complementary. Hybridizing these methods, rather than their strict separation, fosters a balanced approach where slow, reflective processes coexist with faster and automatic ones. By integrating both approaches, students develop a deeper spatial understanding and technical competencces. The teaching experience presented here highlights the importance of adapting to the cultural context, marked by immediacy and digital overstimulation, and emphasizes that learning to be an architect means learning to draw, whether by hand or digitally. En la educación arquitectónica contemporánea, la representación gráfica es clave para formar arquitectos, ya que facilita la traducción de ideas abstractas a imágenes coherentes. Durante años, el dibujo a mano ha sido esencial, pero la llegada de herramientas digitales ha transformado tanto el pensamiento como las técnicas arquitectónicas. Este texto aborda la importancia de hibridar los enfoques manuales y digitales, señalando que el desafío no radica en elegir uno sobre otro, sino en identificar lo mejor de cada uno según el contexto. La enseñanza arquitectónica debe integrar procesos rápidos y lentos, fomentando la reflexión profunda y la inmediatez técnica. A través de un enfoque metodológico híbrido, los estudiantes pueden desarrollar tanto habilidades técnicas como un pensamiento reflexivo. El objetivo es formar arquitectos capaces de tomar decisiones precisas y eficaces, combinando pensamiento rápido y lento, sin sacrificar profundidad ni calidad en su representación.

The Spanish Village in Barcelona contains 117 buildings that is the largest example of ordinary and vernacular architecture of several Spanish regions. Over time, some of the original examples have disappeared or been transformed. The copy, the replica, remains its genealogy. A living document on a full scale of what was or had been. This work is the result of a trip back to some of the places visited almost a hundred years ago, which served as inspiration to reproduce, reinterpret, re-project the fairgrounds. Conclusions will be drawn about similarities and divergences between the copy and the original as well as the transformations that were made to be adapted to a new place where they all had to live together. The analog experience of the trip combines the learning of drawing in situ and traditional data collection techniques with other more advanced and invasive digital techniques. El Pueblo Español de Barcelona contiene 117 edificios que conforman la mayor muestra de la arquitectura, corriente, casi vernacular, de varias regiones españolas. Con el tiempo, algunos de los ejemplos originales han desaparecido o se han transformado. De su genealogía queda su copia, su réplica. Un documento vivo a escala real de lo que era, había sido o fue. Este trabajo es el resultado de un viaje de vuelta a algunos de los lugares visitados hace casi cien años, que sirvieron de inspiración para reproducir, reinterpretar, re-proyectar el recinto ferial. Se extraerán conclusiones sobre similitudes y divergencias entre copia y original, así como las transformaciones que se realizaron para ser adaptados a un nuevo lugar donde debían convivir todos juntos. La experiencia analógica del viaje compagina el aprendizaje del dibujo in situ y técnicas tradicionales de toma de datos con otras técnicas digitales más avanzadas e innovadoras.

The Sansalvador villa, the first project exclusively designed by Josep Maria Jujol in Barcelona, is a unique architectural complex that piques curiosity about its origins and conception. Its incomplete state, limited documentation, and blend of modernist and organic elements contribute to its exceptional nature. This article delves into its history and conceptualization by examining original documents and conducting a detailed photogrammetric survey of the built architectural complex as it is today. By overlaying new planimetry derived from fieldwork onto the original plans, certain peculiarities, discrepancies, and unforeseen changes emerge, shedding light on Jujol’s creative process. The Sansalvador villa reveals the profound connection between the project and its surroundings, showcasing Jujol’s keen awareness of the site’s pre-existing conditions. His architecture is defined by a critical approach to these conditions, integrating them as essential elements in defining the project’s character.

The need to travel and draw for an architecture student is basic to know how to understand the world and from there extract knowledge. This is the main objective of the intensive elective subject Drawn Drifts, which is taught in the spring semester of the ETSAV. When circumstances make the physical act of traveling impossible, virtual or imaginary travel through the screen emerges as an alternative. The objective of this article is to demonstrate that this type of trip is possible, but not only in terms of academic results, but also in terms of reliving the sensation generated by traveling and discovering a city, with companions on board. In conclusion, we will evaluate the experience, trying to analyze the pros and cons of teaching in the virtual classroom, as well as proposing new strategies for the future. La necesidad de viajar y dibujar para un estudiante de arquitectura es básica para saber entender el mundo y de ahí extraer conocimiento. Este es el objetivo principal de la asignatura optativa intensiva Derivas Dibujadas, que se imparte en el cuatrimestre de primavera de la ETSAV. Cuando las circunstancias imposibilitan el hecho físico de viajar, surge como alternativa el viaje virtual o imaginario a través de la pantalla. El objetivo de este articulo es la demostración de que este tipo de viajes es posible, pero no solo en cuanto a resultados académicos, sino también en lo que respecta a revivir la sensación que genera el viajar y descubrir una ciudad con compañeros a bordo. Como conclusión valoraremos la experiencia tratando de analizar los pros y contras de la docencia en el aula virtual, así como proponer nuevas extrategias para el futuro.