Resiliency in geometric aggregation and social connectivity: Anna Bofill Levi and the Taller de Arquitectura

The Taller de Arquitectura—Barcelona reached the international stage with revolutionary works conceived between the mid-1960s and 1970s in the Francoist Spain, endorsing the criticism of the Modern Movement that emerged after World War II. Notable works such as the Barrio Gaudí in Reus (1964–1968), the Kafka’s Castle in Sitges (1965–1968) and Walden-7 in Sant Just Desvern (1970–1975), among others, originated from a recursive process of isometric aggregations of “minimal cells”, which allowed for a wide variety of adaptability characteristics. These realizations, as well as the not built projects La Ciudad en el Espacio (1968–1972) and La Petite Cathédrale (1971–1972), can be identified as experimental tests of the “Theory of Form” (1974–1975) of architect and music composer Anna Bofill Levi (b. 1944). Her mathematical-geometric research offered a resilient design method for an inhabiting system with a high degree of porous spaces fostering social connectivity. She explored the isometric combinatorial possibilities of parallelepipeds in the Euclidean three-dimensional affine space to generate “urban tissues” that can adapt to both construction building techniques and continuously changing individual and social needs and behaviors of men and women. This paper investigates Anna Bofill Levi’s early lesson by focusing on her multidisciplinary vision, the multi-folded concept of adaptability into practice, and the resiliency through voids spaces.