atlas re-edificatoria exhibition connects renovation photography with catalan art

Atlas Re-Edificatoria documents buildings’ renovations in spain

Atlas Re-Edificatoria brings together photographs documenting the renovation of buildings with works by contemporary artists from Catalonia and elsewhere in Spain, primarily sculptures and installations. The exhibition places these practices in dialogue to identify shared approaches, visual languages, and concerns between construction and contemporary artistic practice.

The photographs are drawn from the archive of architectural photographer Adrià Goula and originate from his artistic project Re-Edificatòria. Presented as an atlas, the project organizes the photographs into seventeen chapters, each corresponding to a significant phase or action in the renovation process: Excavating, Removing, Stripping, Accumulating, Drilling, Preventing, Preserving, Marking, Reordering, Micro-Shoring, Macro-Shoring, Restructuring, Stitching, Subdividing, Camouflaging, Channelling, and Protecting.

These categories shift attention from the completed building to the processes that precede it. Excavation, removal, drilling, shoring, restructuring, and other construction actions produce temporary spatial and material conditions that are usually absent from the final architectural image. Through photography, these contingent and ephemeral situations become visible as compositions of structure, material, tools, surfaces, and unfinished elements. The images also document the coexistence of two different temporal and material conditions within renovation work: the existing construction and the building that is yet to emerge. Original structures, newly introduced interventions, exposed layers, temporary supports, and altered surfaces appear together, creating moments in which the old and the potential new architecture overlap.

all images ©Adrià Goula

exhibition examines renovation as material and spatial process

Atlas Re-Edificatoria by photographer Adrià Goula considers these renovation processes as subjects in their own right, examining their visual and conceptual qualities and their relationship to contemporary art. The exhibition presents seven of the seventeen chapters from Re-Edificatòria. Each selected chapter places photographs by Goula alongside works by one or more contemporary artists, creating connections between construction actions and artistic practices. The resulting dialogues focus on the shared material and spatial conditions found across architecture and art. Processes such as accumulation, subdivision, marking, restructuring, and protection become points of connection between the practical operations of renovation and the methods used to produce contemporary sculpture and installation.

The exhibition forms part of the program of Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture, a designation awarded by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA) to the city hosting the UIA World Congress of Architects. The program transforms Barcelona into a forum for architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture. From February 12th to December 13th, Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture presents a multidisciplinary programme developed in collaboration with schools, universities, professional organizations, and cultural institutions throughout Catalonia. The initiative is supported by Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia, and the Spanish Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda.

Adrià Goula’s photographs document the temporary states of buildings undergoing renovation

the Re-Edificatòria project organizes renovation processes into seventeen thematic chapters

excavation reveals material and structural layers hidden within existing buildings

removing and stripping expose the construction beneath finished architectural surfaces

seven chapters from Re-Edificatòria are presented alongside contemporary artworks

exposed layers bring the existing building and its future form into the same frame

Goula’s photographs enter into dialogue with sculptures and installations by artists from Spain

photography captures the contingent conditions that precede a completed building

project info:

name: Atlas Re-Edificatoria

venue: Palau Alfarras, Barcelona

dates: June 19th – September 27th, 2026

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. See more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom

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