Data of the Founder
The founder of RCR BUNKA Private Foundation is RCR ARANDA PIGEM VILALTA ARQUITECTES SLP, a professional limited liability company of architecture, constituted the year 1998 and located in Fontanella Street number 26 of the City of Olot, with the tax ID number ES-B-17.537.846.
Will to constitute the Foundation
The aim is to establish an independent humanist cultural activity centre away from the traditional hubs of large cities, thereby contributing to the decentralization of culture and the development of new exchange models. The goal is to promote, communicate, and enhance appreciation for architecture, landscape, arts, and culture among ever-wider sectors of society. This initiative is rooted in architecture because it shapes all spaces of human life—it is the art we know.
The professional activity developed by RCR Arquitectes (Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta) over thirty-eight years has garnered increasing national and international recognition, earning them numerous awards and distinctions, the most prestigious being the Pritzker Prize in 2017. In 2005, they received the National Culture Prize of the Generalitat de Catalunya in Architecture, the Médaille d’Or from the Académie d’Architecture Française in 2015, and the Medalla d’Or from the Generalitat de Catalunya in 2018. Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta were appointed Officiers and Chevaliers de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the République Française in 2008 and 2014. They have been Honorary Members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) since 2010, International Honorary Members of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) since 2015, and Foreign Members of the Académie d’Architecture Française since 2019.
Their built work, deeply connected to the landscape and character of the territory, holds significant value as the heritage of general interest, particularly for La Garrotxa. In a context of rapid social change, this value becomes even more relevant, underscoring the importance of preserving and protecting their legacy.
The expansion of cultural activities linked to their work and that of RCR—including conferences, exhibitions, publications, and visits—has necessitated the creation of a coordination mechanism independent of their architectural firm. In parallel, a fund has been established. It actively manages, preserves, and organizes the extensive collection of documents generated by RCR Arquitectes, including drawings, models, photographs, exfoliations, and design prototypes, which researchers and educational institutions frequently consult. Furthermore, the initiative opens the possibility of managing other Special Funds to collect, catalogue, safeguard, and disseminate additional legacies.
Initial Endowment
The initial financial endowment is sixty-one thousand eight hundred seventy-five euros (€61,875), contributed by the founder. This amount corresponds to all the prizes with monetary awards received by RCR Arquitectes up until the foundation was established.
