16-10-2017

Flores & Prats Architects for Beazley Designs of the Year Award

Flores & Prats Architects,

Adrià Goula,

Barcelona, Spain,

Theater,

The project for the Sala Beckett theatre and international drama centre in Barcelona by Catalan firm, Flores & Prats has been shortlisted for this year's Beazley Designs of the Year Award.



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Flores & Prats Architects for Beazley Designs of the Year Award The project for the Sala Beckett theatre and international drama centre in Barcelona by Catalan firm, Flores & Prats has been shortlisted for this year's Beazley Designs of the Year Award. Just one more recognition added to the long list for this poetic and topical conversion of a historical building in the Sant Martí district.


In Barcelona, the architects, Ricardo Flores and Eva Prats revamped an old 1920s building - site of the former “Pau i Justicia” (Peace and Justice) cooperative - and converted it into a theatre. It is located in Poblenou, in the Sant Martí district, historically an industrial zone but now filled with artists and creative talents after the major works for the 1992 Olympic Games.
The approach of Flores & Prats Architects was highly respectively of this abandoned building in an advanced state of disrepair. Rather than just restoring the building, which was once the cultural and entertainment centre for local workers, the architects decided  to take it forward and adapt it to its new use, at the same time retaining the special mood of the place.
Their attentive, meticulous work involved a close exploration of the building's original features, stripping it back to the significant elements, from the frames to the doors, to the polychrome tiles, and looking beyond the layers built up over the years.
The photos by Adrià Goula are a compelling story  of the design project by Flores & Prats Architects, pale colours, discreet design solutions, not a nostalgic re-enactment of the past but new input for a future that needs to be rooted in life. An operation whose poetic mood (video) also engages audiences, no longer relegated to passive theatre-goers but embraced as active members of the overall narrative of the theatre.
Sala Beckett – Pbrado Internacional de Dramaturgia was awarded the City of Barcelona Prize, the Living – Spaces Simon Architecture Prize and is shortlisted for the Beazley Designs of the Year, also featuring in the exhibition opening on 18 October at the London Design Museum.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: Flores & Prats Architects
Location: Poblenou, Barcellona, Catalonia
Year: 2016
Images: Adrià Goula
Short Film Credits:
Title: “Taking Care of the Ghosts”
Production: 15-L. Films 
Director: Albert Badia

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