The dean of the COAC, Assumpció Puig, and the president of the Banco Sabadell Foundation, Miquel Molins, have signed a collaboration agreement under which the Foundation will participate in the restoration of the Picasso friezes that surround the COAC headquarters in Barcelona’s Plaça Nova. The Foundation will also collaborate on the exhibition that the COAC is organising for 2023 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso. 

During the signing ceremony, Assumpció Puig highlighted the “great heritage value of these friezes and the privilege of being able to show them openly to the public”. For this reason, she stressed “the responsibility we have as architects to set an example and take care of our buildings. Picasso’s sgraffiti, together with Xavier Busquets’ architecture, give the COAC headquarters a unique singularity, and we have a duty to ensure their conservation”.

Along these lines, Miquel Molins emphasised that “recovering our heritage is also taking care of our history, and we are very pleased to be able to contribute with the Architects’ Association of Catalonia to rehabilitate such an emblematic and representative work of not only the headquarters of the COAC but also Barcelona city centre”.

Restoration of a heritage item
The passage of time and exposure to the elements have caused damage to the friezes that surround the COAC headquarters in Plaça Nova. Created in 1962 when the building was constructed, the friezes are one of its most emblematic and distinctive elements.

Restoration work to repair the damage began in 2021 within the framework of the COAC’s Heritage Plan [2] to renovate and update its buildings, which are part of the heritage of the cities where they are located.

The signing of the agreement with the Banco Sabadell Foundation gives new impetus to the rehabilitation of a cultural element of great value to the city of Barcelona, and will help to create synergies between the two entities to care for and disseminate the heritage value of our buildings and thus maximise the contribution to society.

Collaboration on an exhibition for the Year of Picasso
As part of the celebrations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), the Banco Sabadell Foundation will collaborate on the exhibition that the COAC is organising to give new value to this work of art, recovering the history and methodology applied in 1962 for its execution and comparing it with its rehabilitation 60 years later using 21st-century technologies.