Vía Láctea

Biography

Enric Batlle Durany and Joan Roig Duran obtained architecture degrees from the Barcelona Higher Technical School for Architecture (ETSAB). Enric obtained a Doctorate from the ETSAB. Joan Roig met Enric Batlle while studying architecture at the ETSAB; they both graduated in 1973. Their friendship was consolidated after finding themselves carrying out internships together in the office of Martinez Lapeña - Torres Arquitectos. Finding that they worked very well together, in 1981, after being awarded the Escorxador park and Roques Blanques Cemetery project, they decided to create their own architecture firm: Batlle i Roig. The 80s was a very dynamic decade for them. They executed large-scale national renovation projects on public structures, which consolidated the birth of a new generation of architects. Together with the institutions of the time, they renovated the urban identity of the Spanish landscape. Thanks to the system of contracting through open tenders, young architects had the opportunity to bid for various projects. Joan Roig and Enric Batlle took advantage of this opportunity to execute landscaping, town planning and architecture projects. Amongst their works during this period, the Alcañiz buildings, Alcorcón church and a wide repertoire of parks stand out. Influenced by Elías Torres to promote nature in the city, Batlle i Roig designed Parc de Pegaso in Sant Andreu, l’Hort de la Rectoría in Alella, Parc Central in Sant Cugat and Parc Catalunya de Sabadell, amongst many others. A true landscaping, green conquest. Over the years that followed, Joan Roig and Enric Batlle continued to design public spaces and in 1992, following the Barcelona Olympic Games, they began to manage large-scale architectural projects. This second phase brought them extensive knowledge of a more technical nature. Amongst the projects executed, worth noting are the Sant Boi and Viladecans residences and numerous corporate buildings, such as the new RACC offices in Barcelona, the Corporate Telephony University in Belloch and the FC Barcelona sports complex in Sant Joan Despi.This urban development following the Olympic Games gave rise to the need to address the challenge of urban furniture and lighting. That's when Joan Roig and Enric Batlle began their relationship with the Urban Department of Santa & Cole, now Urbidermis, collaborating in the design of elements for the renaturalised city and on emblematic projects. This relationship, consolidated years ago, is still present in projects such as Avenida Meridiana, the Ronda de Dalt roof structure and the Parc dels Ocellets in L'Hospitalet. Since 1984, they remain connected to the world of teaching, giving classes at the Barcelona Higher Technical School of Architecture (ETSAB), the Vallès Higher Technical School of Architecture (ETSAV) and Masters in Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Barcelona (UPC). Batlle and Roig are the designers behind various Urbidermis projects. The Atlántida fountain, a monolith of timeless shapes that breaks with the classic ornamental fountain design; the Moon bench, an urban element with straight lines and architectural forms, the epitomy of pure functionality; the 108 bench, an element designed to delimit and contain spaces and form lines of seats; the 108 streetlamp, a functional element born out of a right angle, with no delusions of grandeur; the Via Láctea streetlamp, designed to trace lines of light in the sky and the Via Láctea pergola, elegant and functional. Know more