Yearning for progress

The daring of the client, Gustavo Gili, and the know-how of the architects, Joaquim Gili and Francesc Bassó, combined to produce a pioneering building at a difficult time for progressive ideas in Spain: the head office of the publishing house Editorial Gustavo Gili, founded in Barcelona in 1902. It was a call for modern architecture to be adopted as a movement befitting the contemporary era.

In search of contemporary architecture

The Editorial Gustavo Gili head office reflects the main ideas of Rationalist architecture: the use of new materials, elimination of superfluous decoration, submission of form to function, consistency with the surroundings and making use of natural light. The architects had been trained in the theories of GATCPAC, a group of progressive Catalan architects, and they were enthusiastic supporters of the new architecture as opposed to out-of-date classicism.