As a study gift, Federico Correa (Barcelona, ​​1924-2020), received a subscription to the American magazine Architectural Forum from his father. In 1953 he obtained the title of architect. And that illustrated advertising aesthetic that truffled pages with the optimism of the “American way of life”, made a dent in the drawing of his projects. In fact, drawing and conical perspective became Correa’s design method as a starting point.

From this modus operandi we now receive a unique compendium of illustrations: emblematic spaces of the Barcelona bourgeoisie and cultural progress of the second half of the 20th century, designed by Federico Correa together with his partner Alfonso Milá. From the interior design of the Tuset street restaurants of the seventies to the enviable summer houses in Cadaqués, modern and, at the same time, clearly Mediterranean simplicity. Passing through the Fabrica Montesa, in Esplugues de Llobregat, or the later royal box of the 1992 Olympic stadium. His expressive force has given shape to the Correa exhibitions

“Correa starts from a pop and foreign approach to drawing and, inevitably, to architecture; this will be its initial foundation”, explain the architects Aureli Mora and Omar Ornaque, curators of the exhibition. Thus, we enter the houses of Cadaqués from the second half of the 20th century, guided by a sophisticated hostess in white pirate pants and a tight diamond-shaped sweater, a scarf around her neck. And in the bar of the Real Club de Golf el Prat or the extension of Antonio Sert’s house in Comillas, as if we were taking part in a refined social event.

Architects of the Barcelona gauche-divine, Correa-Milá is the interior design of the best restaurants in the Tuset area. The enveloping and particular Il Giardinetto -inaugurated in 1974, FAD Award for Interior Design that year- was conceived as “a magical garden inspired by the chestnut trees of the South of France”. Opposite, the fresh and modern Flash-Flash created in 1970, continues to “flash” the new generations. Both active and in good shape are examples of how the best design does not expire. And they have become icons, almost unique, of the Barcelona of an entire era. Correa and Milá also took care of the interior design of the luxurious Reno (opened in 1954, closed doors in 2007). One of the most select restaurants in the city, which gave rise to that phrase “we eat in Reno” as a synonym for social prestige.

El Prat Golf Club or the Up nightclub

Although the tools of the architecture professional focus on dihedral representation: plans and elevations, and on abstraction, Federico Correa’s focus when designing was different. To the easy-to-understand perspectives of him for all audiences, he adds a chromatic intensity and captivating human scenes. “Correa’s perspectives are born from instinct and ease for representation, and in no case from eccentricity or a desire for originality,” Mora and Oranque point out. However, on the walls of the spaces we inhabit in the 21st century, they are unusually original. They stand out as a fragment of the interiors that marked the modernity of the previous century.