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The digital platform rocagallery.com, a project from Roca, aims to be a reference point for design and architecture to news and thought, with more than 30 international writers and content updated every week.

A committee of experts decided the editorial direction of the website at the first annual meeting. Committee members included Jane Duncan (former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects); Jonathan Bell (writer and editor at Wallpaper*); and Raya Ani (former president of the American Institute of Architects, Middle East chapter). Thirty international contributors, such as Benjamin Prosky (American Institute of Architects-New York); Lucy Bullivant (director of Urbanista.org); Cecilia Tham (founder of Makers of Barcelona; MOB) will contribute essays on a monthly basis.

This new web platform aims to be a meeting point between architecture and design professionals. Twelve people and over 30 international writers are involved in the project, which will generate updated weekly content. The website is published in two languages: English and Spanish.

Each month it will focus on a different theme. The first month’s theme is “Urban Versus Rural.”

Megacities, garden communities, repopulated villages, urban landscapes, animal kingdoms; for the first edition of the website, we explore the shifting divide between the urban and rural environments, and how architects, designers, and artists are responding.

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Homepage of the new Roca Gallery Web © Roca Gallery

Homepage of the new Roca Gallery Web © Roca Gallery

The themes in the coming months are:

  • Connection in a Material World
  • The Afterlife of Architecture.
  • One Ocean.
  • Want more, Use Less

“This platform is Roca’s intent to contribute to the global debate on subjects that affect all of us,” says Xavier Torras, Director of Roca’s Communication and Corporate Branding.

For the launch, authors of the exclusive content include Benjamin Prosky, executive director of the American Institute of Architects-New York (AIANY); Martín Azúa, designer and founder of Numbered Store; and Patricia Espinosa, a journalist specialized in design who writes for XL Semanal and ABC, among others.

The content is divided into four categories: ‘Views on Architecture,’ ‘Eye on Design,’ ‘The Future,’ and ‘Sustainable World.’

Featured Articles in the First Issue: #Urban Versus Rural

New York Takes Up The Green Challenge by Benjamin Prosky

Architects recognize that New York buildings have a large carbon footprint. Prosky suggests what can be done about it.

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New York Skyline. Article: New York takes up the Green Challenge Benjamin Prosky. #Urban versus Rural

New York Skyline. Article: New York takes up the Green Challenge Benjamin Prosky. #Urban versus Rural

Beautiful Ruins by Stefan Baumann

Within the discipline of ‘urban exploration,’ Stefan Baumann photographs abandoned homes, palaces, hotels and hospitals, capturing nature’s return into the built environment.

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Abandoned Places. Nature takes over a home. © Stefan Baumann Article: Beautiful Ruins. Stefan Baumann #Urban versus Rural

Abandoned Places. Nature takes over a home. © Stefan Baumann Article: Beautiful Ruins. Stefan Baumann #Urban versus Rural

Daan Roosegaarde: The Great Innovator by Giovanna Dunmall

Illuminating the Landscape Without Energy

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The old bunkers of Afsluitdijk lit with algae. Image courtesy of Roosegaarde Studio. Article: Daan Roosegaarde – The Great Innovator. Giovanna Dunmall. #Urban versus Rural

The old bunkers of Afsluitdijk lit with algae. Image courtesy of Roosegaarde Studio. Article: Daan Roosegaarde – The Great Innovator. Giovanna Dunmall. #Urban versus Rural

At One With Nature – Architecture That Morphs Into the Landscape by Suzanne Wales

Recent architecture projects where conservation, ecological concerns, sustainability, and the beauty and fragility of Mother Nature steer construction and design.

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Cockpit House. Landscape Architecture by Hiroshi Nakamura & Nap en Japan.  © koji fujii/nacasa and partners inc.  Article: At One with Nature – Architecture that Morphs  into Landscape Suzanne Wales.   #Urban versus Rural

Cockpit House. Landscape Architecture by Hiroshi Nakamura & Nap en Japan. © koji fujii/nacasa and partners inc. Article: At One with Nature – Architecture that Morphs into Landscape Suzanne Wales. #Urban versus Rural

The Greening of Mumbai by Saket Sethi

How can you make India’s industrial powerhouse more Eco-Friendly? Fill the balconies with plants or vertical forests, for a start.

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Many Windows, many worlds, and many lives. In front of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus.  © Swapan Mukherjee. Article: The Greening of Mumbai. Saket Sethi. #Urban versus Rural

Many Windows, many worlds, and many lives. In front of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus. © Swapan Mukherjee. Article: The Greening of Mumbai. Saket Sethi. #Urban versus Rural

The New Garden City by Jonathan Bell

Beyond the green roof; architects treating the urban structure as landscape.

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Vertical Gardens. Project by Heatherwick Studio. © Noah Sheldon Article: The New Garden City. Jonathan Bell. #Urban versus Rural

Vertical Gardens. Project by Heatherwick Studio. © Noah Sheldon Article: The New Garden City. Jonathan Bell. #Urban versus Rural

Updated Inspiration

Updated inspiration is a section that publishes recommendations and news items connected to the theme of the month and invite the user to go deeper into the subject, be it an event, book, or film.

The monthly themes have been decided upon by an editorial committee of experts during a meeting that took place in Roca Gallery London (a work of Zaha Hadid Architects) in January 2018. The seven members of the committee are Raya Ani and Jane Duncan (architects); writer Jonathan Bell; architect and urbanist John Palmesino; journalist and consultant Pati Nuñez; along with the head of Roca brand communication Núria Vall-llovera; and the director of communication at Roca, Xavier Torras.

Expert Committee

Raya Ani – Architect, Dubai and New York 

Former president of the American Institute of Architects, Middle East Chapter (2017) and director of RAW Architects

Jonathan Bell – Writer, London

Contributing Editor for Wallpaper* and editor of the Aston Martin magazine

Jane Duncan – Architect, London

Former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA, 2015-2017) and founder of Jane Duncan Architects + Interiors

Pati Nuñez – Journalist, Madrid and Barcelona

Director of the Pati Núñez Agency, a strategy and communication consultant specialized in architecture

John Palmesino – Architect and urbanist, London and Switzerland

Founder of the Territorial Agency and professor at the Architectural Association School of Architecture

Xavier Torras – Communication Director, Barcelona

Director of Communication and Corporate Branding at Roca and director of the We Are Water Foundation

Nuria Vall-Llovera – Communication Executive, Barcelona.

Head of communication for the Roca brand and director of the jumpthegap® International Design Contest

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Meeting of expert committee at Roca London Gallery, January 2018. © Simon Ellis Brainstorming session using the Manual Thinking method

Meeting of expert committee at Roca London Gallery, January 2018. © Simon Ellis Brainstorming session using the Manual Thinking method

Contributors of the First Issue

Martín Azúa – Designer, Barcelona

Founder of Numbered Store and winner of the Premio Delta de Plata 2011

Ethel Baraona – Architect and Architecture Critic, Barcelona

Founder of dpr-barcelona

Stefan Baumann – Photographer, Vienna

Photographed abandoned spaces in 14 countries

Jonathan Bell – Writer, London

Contributing Editor for Wallpaper* and editor of the Aston Martin magazine

Lucy Bullivant – Curator and Author, London

PhD Hon. FRIBA and director of Urbanista.org

Karen Burshtein – Photographer, Translator, and Journalist, Winnipeg, Canada

Collaborator in various leading publications including Dwell, Conde Nast Traveller, and The Guardian

Giovanna Dunmall – Writer and Editor, London

Writer for leading publications including The Guardian and Frame

Patricia Espinosa – Design Journalist, Madrid

Writer for numerous publications including El Dominical, XL Semanal, Mujer Hoy, Estilo, and ABC

Ben Morgan – Architecture and Design Journalist, Melbourne

Co-founder of Bower Bird, a digital platform that connects architects and designers with writers and the specialised press

Benjamin Prosky – Architect, New York

Executive director of the American Institute of Architects-New York (AIANY)

Carles Sala – Architect, Barcelona

Founder of the SalaFerusic studio

Saket Sethi – Architect, Mumbai and Barcelona

Founder of the Archilogics Studio

Cecilia Tham – Entrepreneur, Barcelona

Founder of the creative community Makers of Barcelona (MOB)

The new Roca Gallery website, under the motto “Sharing Knowledge on Architecture and Design” aspires, above all, to become a reference point within the sector.

source:-archdaily.