01.06.2026
Ciutat Bohigas makes its first announcement at the unveiling of the plaque honouring Oriol Bohigas
Barcelona paid tribute to the architect Oriol Bohigas (1925-2021) with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at number 71 Carrer de Casanova, the building where he was born and lived until the 1960s. The event, held on Saturday at midday and chaired by the councillor for Eixample and third deputy mayor, Jordi Valls, brought together the architect’s family and representatives from the worlds of architecture and politics.
Among those attending were the acting Dean of the COAC and President of the COAC, Guim Costa Calsamiglia; the commissioner of Ciutat Bohigas, Juli Capella; the Director General for Territorial Planning, Urban Planning and Architecture of the Generalitat, Elisabet Cirici, and two of the architect’s daughters, along with other family members.
Guim Costa, President of the Fundació COAC, at the unveiling of the plaque honouring Oriol Bohigas, 31 May 2026.
The event served as a prelude to the institutional year that will be dedicated to him in 2027, to mark the centenary of his birth. The commissioner Juli Capella announced the celebration the commemorative year that will be titled Ciutat Bohigas (Bohigas City), since, as he explained, the city was always the architect’s great obsession, as a symbol of progress.
During his speech, the councillor Jordi Valls held up Bohigas as a benchmark for Barcelona and recalled him as the architect and urban planner who led its great transformation. Valls particularly highlighted his contribution to the regeneration of the historic centre, the dignification of neighbourhoods and the creation of quality public space, and described him as the person who drew the new Barcelona.
Elisabet Cirici underlined Bohigas’s role in understanding the urban transformation of recent decades, and placed his legacy as a fundamental part of the model for the city and the country that the Government wishes to pursue. For his part, Guim Costa noted that, over time, Bohigas’s standing would continue to grow to the recognition he truly deserves, and highlighted his ability to leave no one indifferent.
Oriol Bohigas is considered one of the most influential figures in contemporary Barcelona, having played a decisive role in the process of urban renewal that culminated in the 1992 Olympic Games. Beyond his work as an architect and urban planner, he served as a professor and director of the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB), and drove the creation of the Historical Archive of the Catalonia College of Architects, today a leading institution for the study and preservation of Catalan architectural heritage.
This weekend’s tribute marks the start of the road towards Ciutat Bohigas, with the aim of celebrating the legacy of one of the most significant figures in twentieth-century Catalan architecture.
Plaque honouring Oriol Bohigas at Carrer de Casanova 71 in Barcelona.