Construction Idée et Matière by Josep Lluis Mateo
The Barcelona architect Josep Lluis Mateo has recently published a monograph featuring five recent projects by his practice, among them the Factory in Boulogne-Billancourt and the Filmoteca de Catalunya in Barcelona.
“In reality, a project shakes up these givens (it has to): the place will be (it has to be) irrevocably changed, its use will evolve, and it cannot easily be fixed, pacified or supplied. The project will also denature matter or, better still, give it meaning: stone will become glass or, conversely, the project will always reinvent – at least in part – the technique it uses.” “As an architect, I like to experience this sensation of a void to be filled, and to take on the responsibility of filling it.”
The book is enriched by the viewpoints of various contributors. “Without criticism, the creator is powerless,” says Josep Lluis Mateo. They comment on his work through a number of themes: structure by Agusti Obiol; depth by Dominique Boudet; resistance by Fredy Massad and Alicia Guerrero; and matter and memory by Philip Ursprung.
Through this book, Josep Lluis Mateo sets out his way of working and the meaning of his buildings. He champions technique in the service of quality, as against quantity or, more precisely, property profitability.
- Title: Construction Idée et matière
- Publisher: Ediciones Polígrafa
- Authors: Josep Lluís Mateo, Agustí Obiol, Dominique Boudet, Fredy Massad, Alicia Guerrero, Philip Ursprung, Adrià Goula and Lucien Engels.
- Pages: 184
- ISBN-13: 978-8434313132
- Publication date: 24 May 2012
- Price: €65 Buy on Amazon