On Tuesday 30 November, at the age of 95, Oriol Bohigas, architect, urban planner, intellectual, multifaceted and cosmopolitan man, committed to culture, education and civil society, left us.
Oriol Bohigas, an important figure in the urban evolution of Barcelona, has had close ties with EINA since its beginnings, recognised with the Friend of EINA award in 1983-1984. His career at the school is reflected in the many lectures, seminars and courses he gave: Taula rodona amb el Gruppo 63 (1967); Arquitectura y Urbanismo, algunas etapas en Cataluña (1968); L'arquitectura a Barcelona (1968); Arquitectura catalana 1923-1936 (1969-1970); Problemas de la forma urbana (1976); La consagració de la primavera: Puig i Cadafalch (1962); Els nous espais públics a Barcelona (1983); Barcelona, disseny i seny (1987); Taula rodona Noves tecnologies,… una nova arquitectura? (1989-1990); and Patrimoni. Tradició. Destrucció (1992-1993).
Oriol Bohigas, a man of vitality and animator of a thousand and one initiatives and projects, also gave the inaugural lectures of several academic courses at EINA: Benidorm, Andorra i El Corte Inglés (1985-1986); Més lleig que l'Escorial (1986-1987); Escenografia cultural, cultura i instrucció pública (1988-1989); and La inauguració de l'Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc (1989-1990).
An early work by Oriol Bohigas and Josep Martorell (later MBM) is the annex building in the school's new facilities, EINA Bosc, which will be inaugurated in February 2022, and which has a façade that is very open to the courtyard and a rational, diaphanous interior layout.
The Board of Trustees and the entire EINA community express our condolences to his family and friends, and especially to his wife Beth Galí, architect, designer and former EINA student, and express our heartfelt appreciation for her firm and sincere commitment to the world of design and architecture.
Header photo: Oriol Bohigas with Antoni Llena, Mercè Valeri, Maria Girona and Anna Maio at the 1998 Christmas dinner. Photograph by Manel Esclusa.
Inside photo: Oriol Bohigas with Umberto Eco, Guido Davico, Enrico Filippini and at the debate with Gruppo 63 (1967). Photo by Oriol Maspons.
Oriol Bohigas amb Umberto Eco, Guido Davico, Enrico Filippini i a les Jornades de debat amb el Gruppo 63 (1967). Fotografia d'Oriol Maspons