President

Jordi Sellas i Ferrés
2021. President 2023

Jordi Sellas (Olot, 1977) is a journalist and cultural manager, with a degree in Communication Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He was the founder and director of Club TR3SC, audiovisual and digital director at Grupo RBA, and general marketing director at Grupo Focus. He served as the Director General of Creation and Cultural Enterprises at the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2012-2015). As a journalist, he directed and presented “Generació Digital” for 8 seasons on Catalunya Ràdio and 3 seasons on Televisió de Catalunya. He currently works on various cultural and media projects through Minoria Absoluta, Layers of Reality, and Nostromo Live. He is vice president of the Arts in Health International Foundation, a trustee of the Teatre Lliure Foundation and the Carulla Foundation, and a member of the international board of the Creative Industries Federation of the United Kingdom.

Secretary

Jordi Barcons i Pujol
2013

Jordi Barcons (Les Preses, Spain, 1959) graduated in Law from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 1981. State qualification official in the secretarial subscale, higher category, in 1994. Graduated in Political Sciences and Sociology from the UNED, in 2005. Secretary of the Vall d’en Bas Town Council from 1984 to 1989. Secretary of the Muntanya de la Garrotxa County Council from 1984 to 1988. Secretary of the Garrotxa County Council from 1988 to 1989. Secretary of the Begur City Council from 1989 to the present. Lawyer and legal advisor for different City Councils.

Founder Trustees

Rafael Aranda i Quiles
2013

Rafael Aranda (Olot, Spain, 1961) graduated in Architecture from the Vallès School of Architecture in 1987. Since 1988, with Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta, he has worked under the name RCR Arquitectes.

Carmen Pigem i Barceló
2013

Carme Pigem (Olot, Spain, 1962) graduated in Architecture from the Vallès School of Architecture in 1987. Since 1988, with Rafael Aranda and Ramon Vilalta, she has worked under the name RCR Arquitectes.

Ramon Vilalta i Pujol
2013

Ramon Vilalta (Vic, Spain, 1960) graduated in Architecture from the Vallès School of Architecture in 1987. Since 1988, with Rafael Aranda and Carme Pigem, he has worked under the name RCR Arquitectes.

Trustees

Núria Basi i Moré
2023

Núria Basi (Barcelona, Spain, 1953) has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Barcelona with 20 years of dedication to R&D in the pharmaceutical sector. Currently, she is the president of BASI-GROUP. This family company, BASI SL, deals with the design, manufacturing and distribution of textiles, fragrances, optics, and home wear of the ARMAND BASI and JATROBCN SL brands, distributor of the NAUTICA, COLE HAAN, NONAME and SCHMOOVE brands, through all distribution channels, off and online. She is a member of Councils or Trustees of various institutions in the economic and social world.

Josep Berga i Vayreda
2013

Josep Berga (Barcelona, Spain, 1964) graduated in philosophy from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He completed his studies with a University Specialization Diploma in Management Function in Public Administrations (Ramon Llull University) and a Master’s in Public Management at ESADE. He began his political career in the world of local associations. He has been a councillor for culture, education, social welfare, and civil rights in Olot City Council. He was elected mayor of Olot from 2019 to 2023 and in the municipal elections of 2023.

Joaquim Coello i Brufau
2021

Joaquim Coello (Salamanca, 1946) is a naval engineer from the School of Naval Engineers in Madrid and holds an MBA from IESE. He has been the Presidential Advisor at Gamesa, President of the Carulla Foundation, and a board member of several companies such as Miquel y Costas & Miquel, COMEXI, and PORTEL. He is currently the second vice president and a full member of the Royal Academy of Engineering, as well as a patron of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation and the Palau de la Música Catalana. He has been the president of Anesco, Applus, the Port Authority of Barcelona, and the Social Council of the University of Barcelona. He also served as the CEO of Gamesa Wind and CEO of ITP. He has received the Grand Cross of Alfonso X the Wise and the Best Career Award from the AINE (Spanish Association of Naval and Ocean Engineers) in 2012.

Ramon Folch i Guillen
2013. President 2015-2023

Ramon Folch (Barcelona, 1946) holds a PhD in Biology and is a socioecologist. He is the president of ERF – Estudi Ramon Folch & Associats SL, a consultancy and workshop for environmental and energy projects that he founded in 1994. He has been an environmental consultant for UNESCO and president of the Social Council of UPC. He has published around thirty books and numerous articles. Creu de San Jordi 2025 for his commitment to scientific knowledge and sustainability, both in the academic, business, and social fields. He has made significant contributions to raising awareness and managing environmental and territorial issues. A promoter of the socioecological approach, sustainable planning, and environmental assessment, his knowledge and expertise have made him one of the leading advocates for the management and dissemination of heritage and natural resources in Catalonia, as well as internationally.

Oriol Guixà i Arderiu
2021

Oriol Guixà (Barcelona, Spain, 1952) is an industrial engineer specializing in mechanics at the School of Industrial Engineers in Madrid and an aeronautical engineer specializing in engines, missiles and propulsion engines at the School of Aeronautical Engineers in Madrid. In 1984, he joined the industrial company La Farga Lacambra as a shareholder, general director, and CEO. He is the founding trustee of the La Farga Foundation, which owns the only Copper Museum in Europe. He has been its president and CEO since 2015. Since 2024 is the president of Fundació Privada d’Empresaris FemCAT.

Santiago Mercadé i Vila
2013

Santiago Mercadé (Barcelona, Spain, 1960) holds a degree and an MBA in business administration from ESADE (Barcelona), HEC (Paris) and New York University. Since 1986, he has been CEO of Layetana Immobiliària. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Urban Land Institute in Washington from 1999 to 2009.

Josep Maria Montaner i Martorell
2013. President 2013-2015

Josep Maria Montaner (Barcelona, Spain, 1954) holds a PhD in Architecture and is a Theory and History of Architecture professor at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB-UPC). He co-directs the 21st Century Housing Laboratory Master. He is the author of over thirty books and regularly contributes to El País, La Vanguardia and national and international magazines. He has taught courses and conferences in several cities in Europe, America and Asia. He was Housing Councilor of the Barcelona City Council from 2015 to 2019. Elected Academician of the Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi 2021.

Marta Subirà i Roca
2023

Marta Subirà (Barcelona, 1972) has a degree in law from the Pompeu Fabra University, with more than 20 years of experience in sustainability and public management, where she has held several managerial positions. She has been Executive President of the Generalitat de Catalunya Railways, Secretary of the Government’s Environment and General Director of Environmental Policies. From her work, she has promoted the voice of the Government of Catalonia before international bodies. Under his responsibility, the first law on climate change in the Spanish state, a pioneering law in Europe, was approved in Catalonia. She is part of several councils and boards of trustees of different institutions in the environmental and cultural field.

 

Institutional Trustees

COAC
Guim Costa i Calsamiglia
2022

Guim Costa (Barcelona, Spain, 1968) is an architect from the Barcelona School of Architecture ​​and is currently the Dean of the College of Architects of Catalonia. With more than ten years of professional experience, in 2010, he founded costacalsamiglia arquitectura, a studio for developing architecture and furniture design projects. At the same time and throughout his career, he has collaborated in publications such as Quaderns d’Arquitectura i Urbanisme and with the publishing house Gustavo Gili. In addition to participating in the governing bodies of the College of Architects of Catalonia, Costa is a member of the executive committee of the Manuel Blancafort Foundation and patron of the Ginesta Foundation.

The Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC), founded in 1931 and heir to the old Association of Architects (1874), is a corporation under public law representing Catalan architects, promoting excellence in architecture and spreading its values, especially its social and cultural dimension. At present, this body has 145 years of history.

Former Trustees

Joan Nogué i Font
2019-2022

Joan Nogué (Hostalets de Bas, Spain, 1958) is a professor of Human Geography at the University of Girona and was director of the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia from its creation in 2004 until 2017. He obtained his doctorate at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and extended studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (USA) under the mastership of Yi-Fu Tuan. He has been a visiting professor at several foreign universities. He is a specialist in Cultural Landscape Studies and Geographical and Territorial Thinking. He is co-director of the book collection ‘Paisaje y Teoría’ of the publishing house Biblioteca Nueva. King Jaume I Award for Urbanism, Landscape and Sustainability in 2009 and Joan Fuster Essay Award in 2010 for the work Landscape, territory and civil society. He is a member of the Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC) and the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche scientific committee. He is a regular contributor to the newspaper Ara.

COAC
Assumpció Puig i Hors
2019-2022

Assumpció Puig (Girona, Spain, 1954) is an architect from the Barcelona School of Architecture and has been Dean of the College of Architects of Catalonia from 2019 to 2022. She has been part of the Board of Trustees of the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, Docomomo Iberico, Rafael Masó Foundation, the Barcelona Center of Design, and the Technical Institute of Construction. She is a member of the Business Council of the UPC and the Advisory Council of the ICAEN.

Eugeni Pons i Pau
2013-2021

Eugeni Pons (Barcelona, Spain, 1964) holds a degree in Philosophy and starts, in parallel, photography studies at the IEFC in Barcelona. He began professionally with advertising photography but soon after embarked on architectural photography, which he never abandoned. He has collaborated with numerous specialized publications and prestigious architecture studios and has been awarded five LUX architectural photography awards.

Joaquim de Trincheria
2013-2018

Joaquim de Trincheria (Olot, 1940 – Argentona, Spain, 2018) was a councillor of the Olot City Council for 24 years. He was a natural conversationalist with a great artistic sensibility.

Hisao Suzuki
2013-2015

Hisao Suzuki (Yamagata, Japan, 1957) graduated from the Tokyo School of Photography in 1979. Fascinated by the architecture of Antoni Gaudí, he arrived in Barcelona in 1982 and settled there. In 1986 he began to collaborate with the magazine El Croquis and became its main photographer; in this way, he contributed to the recognition of the contemporary architecture publication with the most international prestige. His photographs have also been published in numerous books and other global architecture and design magazines.