The Miralles Projection

Book excerpt: This book explains both the origin and evolution of Miralles' system of representation, from his time as a student at the Barcelona School of Architecture to the latest projects he designed with Benedetta Tagliabue, including the heroic period with Carme Pinós. With previously unpublished drawings from the architect, it demonstrates on a fundamental level how the evolution of representation runs parallel to that of architecture, thus illustrating its indissolubility and mutual interdependence. It is impossible to dissociate the evolution of the architecture of Enric Miralles from the development of his own system of representation. Beginning from a position inherited from his training at the Barcelona School of Architecture and his practice at the office of Viaplana-Piñón, where he acquired a liking for precision in drafting and a graphic style based exclusively on lines of the same thickness, Miralles soon developed a method defined by a customised use of orthographic projections, connected to a fragmented conception of the architectural plan and space itself.