UTE AMM+Forgas Arqs · Teatre L'Artesà El Prat · Cápsula SCALAE Trazas Trazos Trozos de Arquitectura

[SCALAE] “Traces, Traces, Fragments…of Architecture” Capsule: Teatre L’Artesà, El Prat de Llobregat · AMM Arquitectes + Forgas Arquitectes https://scalae.net https://scalae.net/trazastrozos/artes... In a location that simultaneously serves as a residential city, administrative center, green space, agricultural area, riverside, industrial and logistics hub, port, and airport for the Barcelona metropolitan area, a local board of property owners—entrepreneurs from the early 20th century—in the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, established an entertainment venue with the Teatre L’Artesà. Designed by the architect Antoni Pascual i Carretero, it opened in 1919 and quickly became a cultural center, serving a diverse range of purposes as an Italian theater, café, and garden for leisure and celebrations. After surviving historical difficulties of all kinds, ceasing operations—except for the bar—in the 1980s, and following a long period of inactivity, neglect, and internal deterioration, it was acquired by the City Council in 2003. The team of AMM Arquitectes, with Manel Bosch, Montserrat Nogués, and Antoni Sánchez Fortún, in a joint venture with Forgas Arquitectes, with Joan Forgas and Dolors Ylla-Català, won the 2015 competition for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the theater. They undertook an ambitious program of uses, designed to coincide with L’Artesà’s centenary, offering not only the original, expanded program of performances, but also the facilities and services befitting a 21st-century performing arts center. In his professional account of the project and the work, Joan Forgas outlines the strategies employed in both processes. These include updating the scale of the theater area (stage and auditorium) and incorporating new performance spaces and uses, with the consequent increase in the overall building area. He also describes the urban readjustment of the site within a context that had evolved from its initial spaciousness near the orchards to the current narrowness of a residential area and small road network. Furthermore, he describes the careful enhancement of the exposed materials that characterized the construction and the listed heritage elements, alongside the incorporation of energy optimization systems and technologies for stage design. The result offers a sequence of splendid spaces, harmonious in their relationship with the existing environment, which contribute to a more open public space, alleviating the former confines. Places that hold a special place in the hearts of the local people and, at the same time, offer enough fresh design elements to inspire both locals and visitors with an architecture that ultimately serves as a lesson in what is truly worthwhile when it comes to preserving the character of something that once had it and deserves to continue to do so. The series "Traces, Traces, Fragments... of Architecture," which periodically presents "capsules"—video documentaries about extraordinary architecture of undeniable contemporary relevance—that reveal the design and construction processes and procedures of architects, in the voices of the architects themselves, is an initiative supported by the Editorial-Industrial Council of SCALAE 2026: CRICURSA, GEZE, COSENTINO, FIGUERAS, JANSEN, BANDALUX, LEDSC4, and ROCA. First episode aired: March 5, 2026 Narrator: Joan Forgas Script and image selection: Forgas Arquitectes, Joan Forgas, Dolors Ylla-Català AMM Arquitectes, Manel Bosch, Montserrat Nogués, Antoni Sánchez Fortún Photography: Simón García, Pep Sau, Forgas Arquitectes archive, AMM Arquitectes archive Editing and direction: Félix Arranz Music: Original music for the series, by Jaime Stinus Language: Spanish (Castilian). SCALAE Editorial-Industrial Council 2026: Ferràn Figuerola · CRICURSA Birgit Zondler · GEZE Vicente Martínez-Cosentino · COSENTINO José Manuel Santiago · FIGUERAS Jorge García Morales · JANSEN José Luis Ruiz de Valdivia · BANDALUX Jordi Rocasalbas · LEDSC4 Marc Escolà · ROCA tags: tags: #trazastrozostrozos #TTT_scale #AMMarquitectes #ManelBosch #MontserratNogues #AntoniSanchezFortun #forgasarquitectes #joanforgas #dolorsyllacatala #ElPratdelLlobregat #Barcelona @etsab_barcelona @COACatalunya @coacbarcelona @cultura_cat @cscae