Spread

Book design & around it

Elisava des de 1961

A history of the school

Catalogue / Elisava / 2014 / Daniel Cid (ed.) / Catalan, Spanish and English editions / Hardback / 205 x 310 mm / 320 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-617-0936-5 (english) / This volume, large in size and classical in style, describes the narrated and illustrated history of Barcelona’s emblematic design school from 1961 to the present. However, the linear structure of text and narrative is interrupted by colour-page spreads  – full-bleed photographs printed on coated paper –that, rhythmically alternated, create visual pauses that can be read independently. The sequence of interspersed spreads offers two parallel readings of one and the same story. / Designed in collaboration with Claudia Parra.

Mies Award ’13

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award

Catalogue / Fundació Mies van der Rohe / 2013 / Diane Gray (ed.) / English edition / Paperback with jacket / 170 x 240 mm / 288 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-936901-8-2 / The works nominated for the award and the runners-up are described and illustrated in this catalogue. The sequence of the layout systematically alternates between double page spreads with single images and a profusion of texts and images to create a regular rhythm of parallel readings throughout the book.

Round Trip

Carlos Ventós

Catalogue / Carlos Ventós / Balkis Publishers / 2014 / Spanish-English bilingual edition / Hardback / 220 x 220 mm / 204 pages / Colour / ISBN: ND / Photo book of an imaginary journey that can be visually read in a continuous loop, i.e., the beginning is the end and vice versa.

Arts Santa Mònica

Art, Ciència i fotografia

Catalogues series / Arts Santa Mònica, Actar / 2010-2012 / Editions in Catalan, Spanish and English / 165 x 235 mm / Colour / This series of short monographs on art and science is a register of the respective exhibitions that were held at Arts Santa Mònica art centre in the heart of Barcelona, the Rambles. Although some of them are dedicated to solo shows and others to collective displays, all the volumes are very visual and aim to spark critical reflection.

Arxiu Bolaño

1977 — 2003

Catalogue / Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) (2013), Casa del Lector, Madrid (2013), Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires (2014) / 2013-2014 / Juan Insúa (ed.) / Bilingual editions Catalan-English and Spanish-English / 170 x 240 mm / 176 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-89384-90-3 (Spanish-English) / This catalogue assembles critical texts and a range of graphic and literary material from the Chilean writer’s archive, published on occasion of the exhibition staged by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB). The publication includes photographs by Adrià Goula.

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Les variacions Sebald

Text, image, arts

Catalogue / Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) / 2015 / Jorge Carrión (ed.) / Bilingual Catalan-English and Spanish-English editions / 170 x 240 mm / 104 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-60657-02-6 (spanish-english) / This is a hybrid publication, halfway between an essay and an art catalogue. The layout reveals compositional variations according to content formats, and the small volume is a high quality publication. / Photos, 1, 3, 4: © Claudia Parra.

Elisava 50

50th Anniversary

Catalogue / Elisava / 2012 / Daniel Cid (ed.) / Trilingual edition Catalan-Spanish-English / Hardback with fabric in spine / 210 x 320 mm / 144 pages / Colour / ISBN: ND / Fifty items correspond to fifty concepts that define the Elisava School of Design and Engineering. The design of the fifty miscellaneous fragments is totally flexible and heterogeneous. The cover acts at once as a table of contents and as a foundational statement.

Naturbà

Barcelona Collserola

Catalogue / Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC) / 2014 / Adolf Sotoca, Oscar Carracedo (eds.) / Catalan and English editions / Flexibound / 240 x 310 mm / 440 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-96842-62-5 (english) / An extensive compilation of the projects submitted to the competition for developing the borders of Collserola, the natural mountain area north of Barcelona. One hundred and eleven projects organised in the form of chapters, essays and other contributions engage in a regular and systematic dialogue amidst a range of layouts. Designed in collaboration with Claudia Parra.

Mies Award ’15

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award

Catalogue / Fundació Mies van der Rohe / 2015 / Ivan Blasi, Anna Sala (eds.) / English edition / Two volumes in paperback with flaps, wrapped in one extra cover / 170 x 240 mm / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-941836-0-7 / Two volumes: 420 / 496 pages; 5+1 / 128 pages / This catalogue is made up of two separate books published consecutively, one of which includes 420 nominated works and the other the winners and runners-up. The books, designed to complement each other, are packed together in one edition that includes computer graphics, maps, data and the visual description of the projects. As a whole, the design has been used in the graphic communication of the Award and for the subsequent touring exhibition. / Original design by Ramon Prat developed in collaboration with Lucía Bedia and Claudia Parra.

El artista ingenioso

Exploring Collage and Mixed Media Techniques

Catalogue / Víctor Escandell / Promopress / 2016 / Spanish, English, French and Italian editions / Hardback / 210 x 255 mm / 128 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-16504-62-6 (english) / This is a joint project carried out by illustrator Víctor Escandell, photographer Alicia Martorella and editor Montse Borràs, in close collaboration. The pages are arranged to resemble the artist’s desktop. Throughout much of the book, chapter by chapter, we may follow the construction of the collages as if were taking part in a workshop in progress. The layout reflects the organic quality of the creation of the works, revealing to readers an apparent disorder that is, however, balanced by the underlying graticule to bring rhythm and liveliness to the reading experience.

Ephemeral Architecture

100 projects, 1000 ideas

Catalogue / Promopress / 2016 / Adrià S. Vidiella (ed.) / English, Spanish and French editions / Hardback / 210 x 240 mm / 320 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-15967-70-5 (english) / In this book a thousand short excerpts of text accompany numerous images of the projects . Starting from a fixed graticule, the columns of text adapt to the wide range of formats and sizes of the images, enhancing the layout. / Designed in collaboration with Claudia Parra.

Phantom. Mies as Rendered Society

Andrés Jaque

Monography / Andrés Jaque / Fundació Mies van der Rohe / 2014 / English edition / Sewn binding / 195 x 280 mm / 40 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-936901-5-1 / This catalogue accompanied the installation created by architect Andrés Jaque at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona. The covers of a limited edition of the publication include a fragment of the former red curtains of the pavilion. Besides the complex insertion of this element in the design, the inner layout suggests a double or  parallel reading of an historical-critical analysis of a descriptive text of the works on display.

Europe City

Lessons from the European Prize for Urban Public Space

Catalogue / Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), Lars Müller Publishers / 2015 / Diane Gray (ed.) / English edition / 165 x 240 mm / 208 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-3-03778-474-7 / To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary  of the European Prize for Urban Public Space, created by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) and co-organised by several European architectural institutions. The design is conceived to enhance the legibility of the book over and above the lavish illustrations of the prized works. The graphic project shared with CCCB extends to an exhibition that has toured several countries in Europe and the United States and will be held every two years. / Designed in collaboration with Bet Puigbò.

Mies Award ’17

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award

Catalogue / Fundació Mies van der Rohe / 2017 / Ivan Blasi, Anna Sala (eds.) / English edition / Box containing two paperback-with-flaps volumes / 170 x 240 mm / ISBN: 978-84-941836-6-9 / Two volumes: The Compilation / 384 pages / BN; The Jury Selection / 176 pages / Colour / The structure of this extensive edition is arranged in two very physically different volumes. One of them, lightweight (offset paper) yet longer, is a compilation of the graphic material in the form of a sketchbook; the other, short yet heavy (coated paper) stands out for the photographs of the nominated and prize-winning works and is an elegant and sophisticated brochure. All 355 projects unfold in the pages of the first book, starting from extremely precise plans that are geographically scaled and oriented, shaping, as a whole, a visual map of European architecture. / Designed in collaboration with Claudia Parra.

Fab City

The mass of distribution of (almost) everything

Catalogue / Institute of advanced architecture of Catalunya (IaaC), FabLab Barcelona / 2018 / Tomás Díez (ed.) / English edition / Paperback / 150 x 210 mm / 224 pages / Color / ISBN: 978-84-948142-1-1 / «The book focuses on the power of human-centered technology to transform urban environments and our socioeconomic systems. It showcases the ideas of key thinkers from disciplines including science, design, architecture, urbanism, technology, and sociology, all offering insights from their theoretical experience on how to bring about systems change through the distribution of acces to tools and knowledge.» Tomàs Díez (excerpt from the back cover)

CoHousing Barcelona

Living the house in cooperation

Catalogue / CoHousing Barcelona SCCL / 2019 / Ingo von Sundhal (ed.) / Catalan and Spanish editions / Paperback / 165 x 235 mm / 96 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-09-14428-0 (spanish) / A brief monograph on cooperative housing that includes contributions by specialists. Yellow and green are corporate colours and run throughout the catalogue. The volume is illustrated by Tomoko Sakamoto.

Diseños y esbozos para elBulli

Luki Huber

Catalogue / Planeta Gastro / 2018 / Luki Huber / Spanish edition / 155 x 215 mm / 320 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-08181-28-9 / For the first time, the entire object design developed by Luki Huber for Ferran Adrià’s elBulli restaurant is brought together in this book. Specific cooking utensils and a variety of artefacts are displayed in sketches, well-made photographs and short texts. The book’s rigorous cataloguing system is accompanied by a simple design, divested of all expression.

Promopress / Hoaki

Covers, books, dummies, etc.

Selection of books / Promopress – Hoaki / 2013-… / A graphic collaboration with Promopress publishing house (Hoaki Books, since 2019) translated into cover designs, complete publications and smaller catalogues on architecture, fashion, design and art.

Disseny per viure

99 projects for the real world

Catalogue / Museu del Disseny de Barcelona / 2015 / Oscar Guayabero (ed.) / Catalan, Spanish and English editions / Paperback with flaps / 165 x 230 mm / 208 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-9850-682-2 (english) / Disseny per viure (Design for Living) was the first exhibition produced by Museu del Disseny de Barcelona and its graphic design developed in the catalogue, the display and the communication campaign. The publication describes ninety-nine designs in a sequence arranged according to a person’s life and the influence they exert over it at each different moment. This linear structure is interrupted by thematic breaks that are enhanced by texts by reputed authors. The design is multiplied in order to meet the content requirements of each piece on display. The volume includes photographs by Xavier Padrós. The exhibition was awarded the City of Barcelona Prize in 2015. / Designed in collaboration with Claudia Parra and Bet Puigbò.

Plans i projectes per a Barcelona

2011—2015

Catalogue / Ajuntament de Barcelona, Actar / 2015 / Vicente Guallart, Ricard Gratacós, Carles Bárcena (eds.) / Catalan and English editions / Flexibound / 240 x 310 mm / 440  pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-1-940291-72-7 (english) / Barcelona City Council has been publishing this series of ‘Plans and Projects for Barcelona’ for more than thirty years, under different political cycles. The various projects and theses on the condition of the city are described in terms of town planning, architecture and public space, of the present and of the future. The complex contents are visually and organically arranged, comprehensible at different scales thanks to a strict hierarchy and range of graphic styles that unite the book as a whole. / Designed in collaboration with Bet Puigbò.

Re-Visions

Metropolitan Barcelona. Public space 2013-2017

Catalogue / Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona / 2018 / POCH (ed.) / Catalan, Spanish and English editions / Hardback (catalan) and flexibound (spanish and english) / 235 x 270 mm / 304 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-87881-22-0 (english) / This book is at once a compilation of projects and a celebration of twenty-five years of work dedicated to public space around Barcelona, forming a visual landscape and creating a space for reflection. Over and above the catalogued structure of its themes, the book provides keys for cross-readings adding tags to facilitate surfing the website.

Mies Award ’19

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award

Catalogue / Fundació Mies van der Rohe / 2019 / Ivan Blasi, Anna Sala (eds.) / English edition / Paperback with flaps / 170 x 240 mm / 448 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-9488-201-2 / The structure of this extensive book is arranged in thematic units that include the works nominated for the award and those who have won it. All 383 projects unfold in the pages of the book in the form of plans and blueprints that, with extreme formal rigour, are scaled and geographically oriented in order to create a visual map of European architecture.

BR / RB

Barcelona Regional. Ring roads Barcelona

Catalogue / Barcelona Regional, Ajuntament de Barcelona / 2019 / Josep Bohigas (ed.) / Catalan, spanish and english editions / Box containing two volumes: Barcelona Regional (BR). Past and Present: Hardback with fabric on spine / 165 x 210 mm / 272 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-9156-206-1 (english); Ring roads Barcelona (RB). Present and Future: Spiralbound / 150 x 210 mm / 256 pages / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-9156-206-1 (english) / BR celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the appearance of Barcelona’s Regional Urban Planning Agency starting from the projects carried out in Barcelona since the city hosted the Olympic Games in 1992. It has a uniform, descriptive and compilatory quality. RB is a monographic catalogue on the Barcelona Ring Roads (Rondes) in which four clearly distinct chapters present groups of data and specific projects and narratives on the subject. The wire-o binding, or twin loop,  allows users to interact with the publication. Each chapter has its own cover, that can also become the cover of the book as a whole. The volume includes photographs by Marta Torrent. / Designed in collaboration with Claudia Parra and Edith Stone.

Coup de dés

Architectural debates series

Catalogue / Docomomo Internacional, Fundació Mies van der Rohe / 2008-2012 / Xavier Costa, Ana Tostões (eds.) / Series of 5 titles / English edition / 135 x 200 mm / 96 pages / Color and spot inks / ISBN: 978-84-936901-4-4 / “The Fundació Mies van der Rohe organises a series of debates and lectures entitled ‘Coup de Dés’ that provide an opportunity to discuss some of the most significant architecture being produced, with the objective of offering a wide panorama of current architectural practice. The debates are generated by the presentation of various projects. Each presentation is followed by a dialogue between the architect and a critic who proposes an interpretation of the project and raises related questions.” Ivan Blasi. (Excerpt from the back cover.)

Convergent Flux

Arquitectura contemporània i urbanisme a Corea

Catalogue / Birkhäuser / 2012 / Jinhee Park, John Hong (ed.) / English edition / 220 x 280 mm / 176 pages / Color / ISBN: 978-3-0346-0806-0 / “A remarkable synthesis of history, culture, and innovative design, contemporary architectural and urbanistic interventions in South Korea take shape in the context of great density and rapid societal change. This book examines 32 projects in detail; six essays address topics such us the fusion of tradition and modernity, the redefining of so-called social spaces, and the country’s special topographic condition». Park-Hong. (excerpt from the back cover) / Design in collaboration with Clara Compte.

Small Houses

Contemporary Japanese dwellings

Catalogue / Claudia Hildner / Birkhäuser / 2011 / English and German editions / 165 x 240 mm / 160 pages / Color / ISBN: 978-3-0346-0744-5 (anglès) / “The courage to experiment: when Japanese architects design small houses, they play with the limits of space, use unusual materials and develop new concepts for domestic life. The buildings reveal the creativity of Japanese architects, as well as their ability to organize even the smallest corner. Over the years, the short life of residential buildings has led to a huge architectural market and this book documents current approaches.” Claudia Hildner. (Excerpt from the back cover.)
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Manual Thinking

Luki Huber - Gerrit Jan Veldman

Catalogue / Luki Huber / Empresa Activa / 2015 / English, German, Spanish, Dutch and Japanese editions / 240 x 165 mm / 160 pages and a sheet of stickers / Colour / ISBN: 978-84-941836-0-7 (english) / Manual Thinking is a new tool and instructions manual for team thinking in visual terms made by product designers Luki Huber and Gerrit Jan Veldman. Besides designing the publication, Spread has collaborated with the authors on workshops and practical sessions with students, professionals and collectives in the creative field.

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Fuudokei (climatic landscape)

Mashiko Landscapes Project

Catalogue / KOBUFUJI Architects (Yoshihide Kobanawa, Kaoru Fujii), Akira Ito (Social design studio-Toyo University) / 2020 / Stapled binding / 181 x 256 mm / 24 pages / Colour / Japanese edition / A document in the form of a notebook to publicise the project of transitional development of the Mashiko landscapes  (in the prefecture of Tochigi), a Japanese town known for its traditional ceramics, its history and natural surroundings. This publication, intended to raise awareness of the need to preserve local landscapes and promote sustainable tourism, hopes to offer all inhabitants of the area a long-term view of the strategy.

Silicon Singapore

Urban Projects for Hybrid and Resilient Innovation Districts

Catalogue / Basheer, National University of Singapore / 2020 / Oscar Carracedo (ed.) / Hardback / 165 x 245 mm / 168 pages / Colour / English edition / ISBN: 978-981-14-3882-0 / This edition compiles town-planning and public space projects undertaken by students of the university’s Urban Design MA.

Part / Whole

Urban projects for Bangkok, Hong Kong and Shanghai

Catalogue / National University of Singapore / 2020 / Asma Khawatmi, Nirmal Kishnani (eds.) / Paperback with flaps / 180 x 250 mm / 248 pages / Colour / English edition / ISBN: 978-981-14-5675-6 / A compilatory display of three years’ projects for the MSc ISD on town planning, public space, mobility and sustainability of three megalopolises in South East Asia. The theme of scale runs throughout the book to organise its composition and measure the various graphic elements. System and hierarchy are the guiding principles of the layout.