History turned into art: creating the soul of the REC Comtal Hotel
For a year now, at number 19 Rec Comtal Street in Barcelona, we can find a hotel with a lot of history. True history. Because the Hotel REC Comtal is located right above the path that traced the ancient Acequia Condal of Barcelona which, for 2,000 years and over its more than 12 kilometers, transported water from Montcada i Reixac to Barceloneta, bringing life to the city. Such a special site required reflecting that history, to imbue its walls and corners with details that would attest to everything that place had been and experienced. And for such a commendable task, the names were clear from the start: Bea Schulze, Joan Tarragó, Marga López, and Sergi Delgado. All of them young, from Barcelona, and with an undeniable talent for creating art from nothing, using only their hands, but above all with their hearts. They are the artists who, each in their specialty, have contributed to the development of the characteristic identity of the Hotel REC Barcelona.
For them, the Hotel REC Barcelona has been the great blank canvas on which to unleash their imagination, on which to create the pieces of a true large-scale art gallery. Art to delight the senses, art to discover history, art to enjoy, art to fall in love with, and above all, art to get lost in for a good while.
Despite not having worked together previously, each of them was perfectly familiar with the style and creations of their colleagues. Moreover, they shared a common link that ensured the combination of all their talents would result in an unparalleled art project: Xavier Franquesa, creative director, interior designer, and founder and director of the Il·lacions art gallery, as well as being in charge of the art direction of the Hotel REC. Franquesa had already collaborated with each of them through his gallery, the first dedicated exclusively to design in Barcelona, and was intimately familiar with their works and styles. The commitment to them was absolute from the very beginning, and the final result clearly proves him right. One only needs to visit the hotel to see for themselves.
Today we met with all of them to learn more closely about the creation process of the 'soul' of the Hotel REC, for which they only needed a starting point, a clear objective, and a lot of freedom: three keys that have allowed each artist to create a very personal work. “We worked each part independently and precisely that letting us be, letting us work on our own was Xavi's will, he wanted this to function as a gallery and he let us create something very artistic and very authentic. The truth is that they gave us a lot of freedom in our creative process. There was a theme to be inspired by: the Rec Comtal and from there we had the freedom to create”, tells us Marga López, the artist who has brought to life the illustrations that can be found framed in the rooms, on the cushions, or on the tote bag of the hotel, who has personalized the REC logo with her characteristic organic style and who has designed a map of the neighborhood with a very personal touch that we can see displayed in the lobby.
The history of the Rec Comtal and the hotel's location were fundamental pieces to draw inspiration from for creation. Photographer Bea Schulze who has been in charge of documenting, over two and a half years, the entire process of conception and development of the project, from the initial moments of excavation to the design and subsequent construction of the building, explains that “when the hotel construction began, archaeological remains were found in the ground, at that moment, the need to document the entire process arose. Xavier Franquesa contacted me and we began to shape the concept they had in mind, not only of the work itself but of all the themes related to the Rec Comtal. So I can say that I was there from the zero moment of the hotel”. And she adds with evident emotion in each of her words: “The discovery of the remains was, without a doubt, the best project start I have ever had. I remember that day I thought, I have the responsibility to represent so many years of history, so many years of life in Barcelona. And the challenge was to give all that a contemporary look. In that sense, Xavi has led us through a very beautiful process, and the best part has been to combine the style that each one of us has and our personal way of making art and unite it all in a space in an incredible way”. As the person in charge of documenting the entire process, Schulze had to interact with the rest of the artists to capture the step by step of the creative process: “That was the most beautiful moment because it was a team effort and I had to make the work of all of them visible. Moreover, knowing that all that effort was going to be captured in images that would be part of the final design of the hotel was super news for me”.
The illustrator Joan Tarragó is responsible for the super murals displayed on the different floors of the hotel, for the textured motifs that dress the facade's glass, for the neon doors that open into imaginary rooms, for a super luminous eye, and for the mural found on the ceiling of the lounge-bar. His work captures a historical perspective and contributes a contemporary vision to create something specific and unique: "In my creative process, I usually try to base it on the history of the place, to understand the roots, the origins, and then translate it all into a much more modern vision. In this case, it was about the old Rec Comtal which fed a large part of Barcelona: that first magnitude hydraulic structure, it's water, ultimately it's life, since it was a water channel that allowed cultivation and therefore, was the source of food at the time. I wanted to capture all of that in my work." And he adds:"I also wanted to record the location of the historical remains. In fact, the mural in the entrance courtyard, which I have called individual, is precisely my interpretation of one of the three archaeological characters found during the construction of the hotel. The content of the mural is a horizontal river that camouflages parts of a skeleton within it. It is a tribute to the historical memory and life around the Rec Comtal. In that part of the project, it was irresistible not to use that historical content".
Sergi Delgado, ilustrador, se ha encargado de crear cuatro número-grafías para dotar de identidad los números de habitación y los de planta; para las puertas de las habitaciones ha utilizado unos motivos "fluidos" con esencia pop-art, y para los pasillos unas elaboradas trazas geométricas que se han materializado con listones de madera.
“Xavier Franquesa contacted me to commission the floor numbers for the hotel and the room numbers when the hotel was already in the final stages of development. At that time, I was working with textures that fit very well with the concept of water and waves that was being explored, and we also took the opportunity to integrate them into some paintings displayed in the rooms, as well as some illustrations. He showed me some illustrations that Marga had done, photographs of the REC, and more to inspire me and to have a foundation to work from. Later, in the different floors of the hotel, I noticed some wooden beams on the ceiling and found it very interesting to work on the floor numbers with those woods, drawing inspiration from razzle dazzle, a type of cubist-inspired military camouflage used on ships to hide them and prevent enemy submarines from targeting them accurately. In the end, what we did was transform that pattern using the same woods and creating the numbers. The result was very cool because it gained three-dimensionality and allowed playing with more than just the wall.”
Just a year ago, all the artists who had participated in the design of the REC Hotel gathered for a cocktail night where they saw, for the first time, the final result of their works integrated into the decoration of the now finished building. As Joan Tarragó explains, “walking through the door and seeing the final result was a thrill. Personally, I can say that I dedicated many hours to it and there are murals with my work on every floor, so seeing everything completed was incredible. It's like when you work for an exhibition and the day before everything in your workshop is disordered, a total mess, and suddenly, you see your work in the gallery and you say wow!, but on a monumental level, because it's a building with many floors, three-dimensional, with huge murals, neon lights... and all that contrasted with the work of all your colleagues who are people whose work I admire and who also do work that fits perfectly with mine”.
Bea Schulze adds: “For me, this job is my baby, I've been involved with it from the very beginning, very closely, and not just the construction process of the hotel but also the process of the artwork from all my colleagues. The connections I had with all of them, with Xavi, with Núñez i Navarro were incredible. Sometimes you do projects and, of course, they are there, but this one is a super project, as well as an amazing and magnificent team effort“.
In the middle of the answer, the lounge-bar waitress serves us our drinks and at that moment Bea stops talking, takes the coaster in her hand and shows it to us: “This is what I'm talking about. What's happening right now is incredible to me. Being served a drink and the coaster being one of the photographs from your work, to see your contribution so present in the hotel, is something indescribable”.
“En mi caso, afirma Marga López, mientras se iba montando todo me iban llegando spoilers por whatsapp: la instalación del vinilo de la entrada, etcétera. Recuerdo el día que nos invitaron para ver el resultado final con muchísima ilusión por ver cómo había quedado e ir entrando en las habitaciones y pensar ¿será aquí dónde están mis piezas? Estaré eternamente agradecida a Xavi y al grupo Núñez i Navarro por la confianza y por la libertad ya que ha sido muy fácil trabajar en el proyecto, me siento muy satisfecha con el resultado”.
Sergi Delgado explains that “I usually always work digitally, on a computer, and the truth is that when I saw the large-scale numbers assembled, for instance, almost two meters tall, I was very impressed to see it. To see a piece of work that you've done on a screen suddenly in physical form is really cool. And there are few projects where I have the opportunity to translate something I do on a computer into something tangible. The truth is that I feel very happy with the project and with Xavi as well, I haven't received any negative feedback, everything was always moving forward, forward, and very well”.
When asked what they wanted to express with their work, everyone is clear and again, they are unanimous: the soul of the project from a very, very personal perspective. In fact, Marga explains to us that “one of the things that fascinated me most about the project was that I had to create a map of the neighborhood with the four emblematic places (Arc de Triomf, the cathedral, Santa Caterina, and Santa Maria del Mar...) and then recommendations for places to eat or have a drink, but from my own point of view. And I remember that at the beginning I was shy because I thought these are places that I like! It's true that I used to work in a studio nearby and I'm quite familiar with the neighborhood, but these are places that I like and I didn't know if that was a strong enough criterion to recommend to everyone staying at the hotel. And in the end, except for two places that Xavi told me to add, the rest are totally to my taste. The project has been that personal”.
Joan Tarragó explains that in addition to capturing the history of the Rec Comtal, he has tried to go further and capture the viewer's attention by experimenting with new techniques, mixing neon lights with mural painting: “These luminous murals seek more than just contemplation from the viewer; they offer a dialogue. For example, the four neon doors in each corridor, which visually invite you to step into the mural and be imaginatively transported to other worlds. Or the mural on the second floor of the eye. We are always searching for something and suddenly it's a luminous eye that finds you. It's a bit of that surprise effect, the unexpected accident that suddenly makes you the protagonist”.
Before concluding, Bea wants to add something: “The truth is that I speak on behalf of everyone when I thank Xavier Franquesa and Núñez i Navarro for their involvement and guidance throughout the process. They made it very easy for us, allowed us to be ourselves and to express freely in our work, and that is reflected in the outcome”.
We ended the interview with laughter, reminiscing about the anecdotes they experienced throughout the entire hotel construction process, against the backdrop of an unparalleled view: the Barcelona skyline, almost 360º, visible from the terrace of the Hotel REC.
