The expansion of the airport has been the subject of a lively debate for months regarding its advisability, especially considering that the extension of the third runway proposed by Aena could lead to the destruction of La Ricarda lagoon, an area of high environmental value that is also protected by the Natura 2000 Network. Beyond the consequences it may have for nature, there is another gem that could be affected by the expansion if it goes ahead as currently planned. This is Casa Gomis, also known as La Ricarda, a unique building in the heart of the Llobregat Delta conceived by architect Antoni Bonet Castellana, at the request of music lovers Ricardo Gomis and Inés Bertran.
Recently declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest by the Generalitat, Casa Gomis was conceived as a family summer house, located by the sea, and surrounded by pine trees a few kilometers from Barcelona. With a single floor and a horizontal structure, it consists of several pavilions connected to each other, yet independent, with undulating roofs, brick walls that provide thermal insulation, and earth-colored ceramic pieces. Precisely, the most relevant element that identifies it is its large vaulted roof, a form that represents a modern reinterpretation of the historical and traditional Catalan volta.
This architectural gem will be the protagonist of the exhibition Bienvenidos a La Ricarda, which can be visited starting September 15 at LAB36 of Galería Senda. Painter Bea Sarrias, specialized in portraying iconic spaces, and audiovisual artist Morrosko Vila-San-Juan have been working on Casa Gomis for some time and wanted to pay a small tribute to it, with paintings and audiovisuals that will allow visitors to discover its colors and textures. The exhibition has been conceived as a guided tour, designed to evoke the feelings this house provokes in an immersive way. Although its premiere may seem like a coincidence, Sarrias and Vila-San-Juan contacted Galería Senda a year ago, when the airport expansion had not yet become one of the main topics on the media agenda.
For Vila-San-Juan, reclaiming La Ricarda not only means appreciating its architectural value, as a rationalist work admired worldwide, but also focusing on the cultural center it became during the 1 950s. John Cage, Antoni Tàpies, Joan Miró, Joan Brossa, Joan Prats, Mestres Quadreny, and Carlos Santos were some of the personalities who visited Casa Gomis, where concerts and dance, theater, or poetry performances were held. A refuge for intellectuals, the Club49 was founded there, of which Ricardo Gomis was also a member, with the intention of recovering the artistic avant-garde born during the Republic and interrupted by the Civil War.
Over the years, it has become a place of pilgrimage for architects and design enthusiasts, especially considering that it is one of the few Spanish works that are part of the international Iconic Houses network, which brings together the most iconic houses of the 20th century.
If after visiting the exhibition, the first by Sarrias and Vila-San-Juan in this gallery, there are those who want to visit Casa Gomis, the City Council of El Prat de Llobregat organizes periodic visits to enjoy it firsthand.