The Ricard Balcells Studio of Architecture, founded in 1988, offers design and construction services for new buildings , as well as restoration, in both the public and private sectors. For the past 15 years, Balcells has successfully constructed buildings of many different types, with an emphasis on sports complexes, which have received international awards. The studio offers personalized service from inception through feasibility stages to construction. It manages small as well as wide-scope projects, the latter developed in collaboration with specialized engineering teams.
The Studio has an established record of producing major sports centers, and counts among its clients the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Committee; the State Government of Catalunya; the City Government of Barcelona; the University of Barcelona, and numerous other city governments in Catalunya (Vila seca, Sant Sadurní, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and La Roca del Vallés). Balcells received international recognition for the Elite Training Center of Sant Cugat when he was awarded the F.A.D. price and the 1993 award from the International Association for Sports and Recreational Installations (I.A.K.S.).
Clients in several other autonomies have recently selected the Studio's sports projects as well, such as the Diputación General de Aragón and the Colindres City Council (in Cantabria). The Studio, in collaboration with architect team Castillo-Clúa-Sunyer, is currently planning the Aragón Sports Center, a 400.000 m2 multi-building complex including a sports museum, medical center, athletes' residence.
Ricard Balcells' hotel architecture has also received recognition. His restoration of the Hotel Europa in Granollers won the 1993 F.A.D. Opinión Award (Barcelona, 1993). Also noteworthy is the restoration of the Hotel Rural Can Pons Xic in Arbúcies, (Barcelona).
The Studio also has an established record in school construction and remodeling, as well as multi-family and private housing. Balcells was responsible for design studies, remodeling and expansion for municipal schools in the Barcelona district and was responsible for the restoration and enlargement of the Escola Sant Nicolau in Sabadell, 2001.
Born in Barcelona in 1954, Ricard Balcells earned his Architecture Degree from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona in 1986. He has been professor of the Department of Projects of this University since 1991. He has regularly been invited by the Department of Projects of the University of Navarra (2000, 2001), and was Guest Professor of the Department of Projects at the Escuela Técnica de Arquitectura de Valencia (2002). From 1981 to 1988, Balcells worked in the Dirección General de Deportes of the Generalitat de Catalunya, where he collaborated in the development of the technical specifications of Sports Installations and the Plan for Sports Facilities. He participated in the biennial Congresses of the German institution I.A.K.S. in Cologne, Germany.
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