Image: Josep Lluís Sert al seu despatx. Àlbum de Moncha Longás. © Anagrama
The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design will present ‘Josep Lluís Sert: The Legacy of a Modern Architect’, a two-day programme of seminars and public discussions in Barcelona on 1–2 October 2026. The event will examine the life, work and continuing relevance of Josep Lluís Sert, whom the organisers identify as a central figure in Catalan modernism with an international career and outlook.
The programme will take place at the CCCB in Barcelona and is organised jointly by the CCCB and Harvard University’s GSD. It forms part of Barcelona 2026, Architecture World Capital, placing the discussion within a citywide year focused on architecture and its public, historical and contemporary dimensions.
According to the CCCB, Sert is “one of the essential figures in contemporary architecture.” The institution describes his legacy as visible both in the influence of his work and ideas on contemporary criticism and in the heritage value of the buildings he designed. The event will revisit that legacy through a contemporary lens rather than presenting it solely as a historical subject.
The central seminar is organised around four thematic sessions. Alongside it, two public presentations will bring together experts, architects and thinkers from different generations. The organisers say the format is intended to provide an in-depth understanding of Sert while also raising questions about how his work and ideas should be reinterpreted today.
The published programme includes ‘Contemporary Dialogues on Sert’, scheduled for 1 October with María Charneco, Javier García Germán and Aixa del Rey. On 2 October, Eric Mumford will give ‘Sert: A Global Approach’. The CCCB lists Lluís Ortega and Moisés Puente as curators of the programme.
Sert’s international focus is a defining thread of the event’s framing. Rather than treating Catalan modernism as a self-contained regional movement, the programme presents Sert through the relationship between his Catalan roots, his international trajectory and the broader critical questions raised by his architecture and thought. The seminars and discussions will run across 1 and 2 October 2026 at the CCCB in Barcelona.
