ENRIC MIRALLES - A PRESENCE AND AN ABSENCE

His work is passionate and exciting, a work that leaves no room for indifference. The imprint of Enric Miralles (1955-2000) on world architecture will remain a vital one over the next few years as the projects he left on paper are made into a reality. In this section, and by way of homage, B.MM evokes his memory through tributes to him published in the international press after his death last summer. We are also reprinting a text that Miralles wrote for the Monographic on Ciutat Vella in issue 45 of B.MM, in which the sensibility and unique personality of the man considered by all to be the most brilliant Spanish architect of his generation shines through.

"Buildings whose ruins could also appear contemporary ...
They should not show pride in what is new beyond its time ...
We have a conglomeration with the existing tissue of buildings ...
They should accept a place's complexity - and its density ...
Their projects should show an energy that can play with time."
ENRIC MIRALLES

"Miralles did not believe in the autonomy of the draughtsman and he was suspicious of typology. He never ceased looking for factors in common with life, listening and giving in to the fascination of mental processes." (Christoph Gunsser, Baumeister)

"Miralles was the Barcelona architect who most embodied the spirit of that city." (David Mackay, Architect, The Guardian)

"Like Antoni Gaudí, Miralles defied the rules of architecture to the point of anarchy, but at the same time he showed a deep respect for historical and cultural context." (The Times)

"There are few moments in one's life when you suspect you are in the presence of genius; I was fortunate to become one of the friends of Enric Miralles." (Fred Smith, Architect, The Scotsman)

"With Enric, you were with a mind that was never at rest, a man with poetic insight into the stimuli that produce form and meaning in architecture." (Andrew Macmillan, The Guardian)