Albert Rubio: “Good architecture improves people's quality of life”

48 hours to rediscover Barcelona through its architecture. That's the proposal that has been carried out since 2010 by the 48 Hours Open House Barcelona, an initiative that links culture, architecture, photography, and local heritage over a weekend when spaces usually closed to the general public can be visited, such as the Arc de Triomf or the Venetian towers of Plaza Espanya. As in the previous edition, Núñez i Navarro joins these 48 hours by opening the doors of the hotel Granvía, the first mansion built outside the old city walls, and the REC, an urban and sustainable space inspired by the REC Comtal, a channel that supplied water to the city of Barcelona since Roman times.

One of the people in charge of selecting which buildings might be of interest to the general public is Albert Rubio, the programming director of Open House Barcelona, who knows the festival like few others, having served as a volunteer and area coordinator before taking his current position. No one is better suited than him to help us get to know the festival a little better.

Dinos, Albert, how has the experience of holding different positions been?

As a volunteer, I took on all the roles the festival offers: access, guide, and proximity volunteer for different buildings... and the truth is that each one has its own interest. As an access volunteer, you talk to and get to know people, and as a guide, you can elaborate on architecture. Finally, as a coordinator, the task is fantastic because it allows you to get to know an area of the city very well. You can convey all the information about those buildings, which are usually about 40. The role of programming director is one of the best jobs I've ever had. Studying the architectural heritage of Barcelona and the projects that are currently being carried out, making a selection, and bringing out the best proposals that I think may interest people.

What new features does Open House have compared to the 2017 edition?

As we have experienced 9 years of growth, the goal for this year has been to consolidate the festival: to strengthen the geographical scope and develop the various sections (Open Green, Open Social, Open Infrastructure, and Open Kitchen). The idea for this year was not to continue growing, but to renew ourselves, and in the end, 40% of the programming is new.

The main novelty for me is that this year is the European Year of Cultural Heritage, and Open House wants to join in by advocating for modern architecture and its origins, which are the rationalist culture of the 1930s and, more specifically, the figure of the architects from that time. We will do all this by advocating for the work of this group of architects, who in the 1930s imported the European architectural avant-garde, but always with respect for traditional Mediterranean architecture.

Nos interesa mucho el cambio estilístico que experimenta en ese momento la arquitectura: se saca toda la ornamentación, se asocia la forma a la función y a la vez con los valores que ésta transmite, ya que por primera vez que se pone la técnica a disposición del pueblo. En el sentido que todos los avances tecnológicos que se han ido produciendo a lo largo del siglo XIX, se intentan adaptar para que la gente pueda tener una vivienda digna. Por ejemplo, la Casa Bloc, vivienda obrera que se construye en el barrio de Sant Andreu. Por eso, desde Open House hemos hecho una propuesta bastante interesante con una selección de proyectos de este periodo que creo que explican bastante bien el momento histórico y su importancia arquitectónica: Viviendas, centros sanitarios, …

How long does it take to organize an open house festival that focuses on a weekend?

There are people working throughout the year. Within the team, the level of dedication varies. Throughout the year, there are the communication, sponsorships, grants, and event organization staff working on various events that take place over the year. The programming team starts at the beginning of the year, from April onwards, to select buildings, contact them, and assess the feasibility of their participation.

Before summer, the other participating cities also start to get organized (Santa Coloma, Vilassar de Dalt, Badalona, l’Hospitalet, and Sant Joan Despí). And finally, most of the team joins in September and October, when volunteers sign up and we make visits to all the buildings with them. In these two months, everything is finally put into place.

To what extent do you think that such an expansion of the Festival is positive?

It's not that much to cover. Ideally, we would like all of Catalonia to open up and claim its heritage over a weekend (or more), provided that it is organized locally, not centrally. The festival creates this sense of belonging among the residents who discover the value of certain buildings they have seen all their lives but haven't appreciated, and they rediscover their neighborhood.

The association places a lot of emphasis on the role of the volunteer. Why is it so important to you?

Volunteering is key for the festival to work. In the end, having more than 1,000 volunteers is the only way to make it possible. We might have the buildings and the audience, but if there's no one to open them and explain them, we are nothing. The entire team has gone through the phase of being volunteers. It's not a requirement, but it ends up happening, as a big family is formed in the weeks leading up to and during the festival. All the volunteers believe in this dissemination of heritage and in the idea that architecture is culture and that it must be claimed.

As of today, being such a well-known festival, is there still any building that eludes you?

Buildings that withstand year after year, I believe there are none. Perhaps some because we have given up. It's possible. What I can say is that this year, since the theme is the architecture of GATCPAC, we have studied the extensive work of this collective and have contacted many buildings. Among them, there are private homes that have declined the invitation, and some are resistant, like the Myrurgia Factory from the architect Puig i Gairalt, which is a building we have been pursuing for years. But well, if one declines one year, if it becomes of interest again, it eventually ends up participating.

Based on your experience, are people more attracted to historical buildings or contemporary ones?

Although it's hard for me to admit because it goes a bit against the festival's intent, the ones that interest the public the most are the historical ones. Modernism in Barcelona is very important and ends up being the main attraction along with other historical buildings. The top visits are always made up of historical buildings, such as the Arc de Triomf or the Venetian Towers, modernism, like Casa Sayrach or the Mas de Miquel, some novelty of the year, in 2017 the Model prison which had just closed or the Sant Antoni market which was about to finish the construction, and some newly completed contemporary building, like Vil·la Urània also in 2017.

The Festival always tries to explain contemporary and modern architecture, and we are surprised by this reaction from the public because there is a considerable cultural offering in Barcelona to see Modernism: Gaudí, Puig i Cadafalch, or Doménech i Montaner. However, architects from the time of the republic, from the Barcelona school of the 60s and 70s are less known, although their audience is growing year after year at the festival.

And little by little, hotels have been sneaking in, like the REC or the Granvía...

For us, it is important to break down the barrier that sometimes exists with these buildings because the local public never ends up going. When in fact they have fantastic terraces and cafeterias, and the public believes they do not have access. In this case, the REC hotel, in addition to having a magnificent terrace and bar, is interested in the collaboration that many local artists have had, and it is located next to the Arc de Triomf.

Open House is a global phenomenon that occurs in many cities. Does each one operate independently or is there an exchange of information about what works and what doesn't in other places?

Just this year, in January, we held a meeting in London with more than 30 organizers from different Open House festivals. It was a sharing of ideas, concepts, and work methods. Experiences and knowledge were shared. There was a lot of discussion about work methodologies and the direction the festival wants to take. But in the end, each Open House is organized independently.

Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia in 2019... do you see any other city in Spain with the potential to host its own Open House?

In Spain, there has been very good architecture, both traditional and contemporary, so almost any city could join the event. But if I had to choose one, it would be Girona, which has incredible historical and contemporary architecture.

What is the profile of the public that visits the Open House?

It's a very diverse audience. Most are non-professionals who enjoy culture and heritage and know that once a year they have this event in the city. But we are increasingly receiving people from the sector, including architects and architecture students, who see a great opportunity to discover architectural proposals and the city's new developments. Moreover, the added value of having the architect explain their work motivates students of architecture, design, and interior design. This part of the audience always gets more involved and usually ends up volunteering.

How do you think you can make contemporary architecture buildings more attractive?

On one hand, there is an educational and pedagogical issue to explain why architecture is important and why good architecture improves people's quality of life. And not just the architecture from 100 years ago when they were dedicated to adding flourishes to buildings. The truth is that since we started, we have noticed a growing interest in this type of architecture from the festival's audience.

An important part of the festival is the photography section, which this year is structured around 3 contests: opengram (sponsored by NiN), opensketch, and Open Photo. Can architecture be understood without photography?

It is possible. There is a Swiss architect, Peter Zumthor, who does not allow photos of his buildings to be published. He wants his architecture to be experienced. That's his way of seeing it. We really like photography because it is a subjective view of the space and the building. That's why we enhance the user's perspective, not so much the canonical and perfect photography of architecture. We like photography as a subjective view of the public. Of course, the best thing is to experience the architecture but it's impossible to know all the buildings in Barcelona. However, through photography, you can create a mental map of everything there is, and you can get to know it in a different way.

The aim of these photography contests is to showcase your perspective of that space. We like the idea of interacting with the space, whether it's through a photograph or a drawing. This also achieves a two-way experience.

Let's remember the dates of the Festival

At Open House, we encourage everyone to participate, whether as an audience member or as a volunteer, taking pictures or participating in contests. It's the weekend of October 27 and 28, and we have more than 230 buildings. Ultimately, the goal of the festival is for the local public to get to know their city.