Tusquets, Oscar

b. 1941, Barcelona

   Architect

   Tusquets' background included a training in Arts and Crafts, which influenced his whole professional career. After qualifying at the School of Architecture in Barcelona in 1965 he worked under Federico Correa, and was also the leading light in the Studio Per, founded in 1964 with Pep Bonet, Cristian Cirici and Lluis Clotet, which was to have a long-term impact on the Spanish architectural scene. The works of Studio Per were noted for their stylistic eclecticism, combining elements of the "modern" international tradition with borrowings from the past, with contributions from the plastic arts, and with the renewed prominence given to craftwork. Tusquets embarked on a long academic career in 1975, and became the role-model of the architectartist for some of his colleagues and pupils. His interest in design and his achievements in the area of Interiorism influenced the development of architecture in the 1970s and 1980s, especially in Catalonia. His contribution to the Palau de la Musica (1983–9), a prime example of Modernism, gave him the authority and prestige which enabled him to undertake a huge programme of activities in the spheres of town-planning, architecture, design and the plastic arts.

   On the theoretical level, Tusquets was able to build on the concepts popularized by Robert Venturi and the "post-modernists" to work out his own ideas on borrowings from the past, the use of traditional techniques and the realization in contemporary architecture of the decorative potential of materials such as glass, wood, stone and metals.

   His work has gained him numerous distinctions, including several awards of the FAD Prize and the Delta de Oro (Golden Delta), and other prestigious prizes at both national and international level. The most notable of his achievements, most of them in association with Carlos Díaz since 1987, are the Chandon Complex in Sant Cugat (Barcelona, 1990), his buildings in the Olympic Village (Barcelona, 1991), the International Housing Exhibition (Kashii, Japan, 1987), the Pavilion du Parc de la Villette (Pavilion Tusquets, Paris, 1990) and the Maison Somasaguas (Madrid, 1989). His best known designs are the chairs in the series Varius (1984), Gaulino (1989), and Lucas (1989), and the Astrolabio (1988) and Vórtice (1989) tables.

   See also: architects; architecture

   MIHAIL MOLDOVEANU