OAB Ferrater & Partners

In 2006, Office of Architecture in Barcelona (OAB) was created by partners Carlos Ferrater, Xavier Martí, Lucía Ferrater, and Borja Ferrater, along with Núria Ayala as Director of Projects for the studio.

Carlos Ferrater and OAB have received several awards such as the City of Barcelona Award in 1999 and 2008 for the Barcelona Botanical Gardens and Mediapro Building, the Brunel Award of 2005 for the Zaragoza-Delicias Transportation Station, the City of Madrid Award in 2002 for the JC Decaux headquarters building, the Flyer Award for Barcelona’s El Prat Airport and several awards for the Benidorm Waterfront including the FAD Award, WAN Award and the Spanish Architecture Award. The studio has also received 4 other FAD Awards, a Decade Award, and has been a finalist for the Mies Van Der Rohe Award on 3 occasions.

Carlos Ferrater has received the 2009 National Architecture Award by the Spanish Ministry of Housing for his overall career and since december 2011 member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (International RIBA Felowship).

OAB’s work has been exhibited at: the MOMA in New York as part of a larger exhibit titled “On site: new architecture in Spain;” the Art Institute of Chicago as a one-man show dedicated specifically to the works of Carlos Ferrater; the Institute of Art and Architecture in Israel; the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao; architecture schools in Madrid and Barcelona; the Roman Aquarium; Istanbul; many other cities. The exhibitions in MOMA and Chicago were part of the inspiration behind the book “Carlos Ferrater-OAB,” which won the RIBA International Award in 2008. In 2010 a second book “OAB and Partners” was published, which was the first architecture book to have a QR code. Finally, in 2011, a book on the Benidorm Waterfront, “Paseo Marítimo de BENIDORM” was published.

Following the creation of OAB, the OAB gallery is born due to the need to expand and provide a differentiated, physical space that could accommodate cultural, academic, documentary and research related activities that are connected to the professional structure of the studio. The gallery is meant to be an exhibition space, and a documentation center that provides a space for giving Masters Classes for the UPC Foundation, giving seminars, doing editorial projects and practical and theoretical research.