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History and general description:

A lot of (around 50) impressive buildings - we will sit up progressively - for agricultural cooperatives had been built in Catalonia in the first third of the XX th. century by different architects, but specially by Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and Pere Domènech i Roure. Due to it's magnificence this buildings are known as Wine Cathedrals.
This buildings are a demonstration of development of cooperative movement promoted by the Mancomunitat - the Catalan government at that time - together with a significative growth in technological aspects. This progress was sustained by the rural dynamism helped by techniques introduced and adapted to the Catalan rural needs by Cèsar Martinell. Finally the use of traditional architectural techniques and materials helped to build this monumental buildings.  Another aspect is the link between work and beauty. 
Some of the elements incorporated to that buildings were based in the study of the needs of the wine industry and specially they were the consequence of the collaboration between C. Martinell and the engineer Isidre Campllonch. That principles were: Large volume aisles well aerated, wine reservoirs with aerated air chambers to avoid the heat transmission, openings to assure the carbonic acid evacuation and others.
The common characteristics of that buildings are: 
   In terms of production: Big design care to assure the best achievements of proposed activities. 
   Architecturally: Vertical projection, brick profuse use, parabolic arches with columns made in brick assuring a strong
   structural resistance, big windows to assure the illumination, frequent presence of water elevated reservoirs, construction
   in Art Nouveau - Modernista - style frequently combined with Noucentista style. 
This buildings follow to cover efficiently its functions instead of the long time elapsed since its construction and vicissitudes suffered as, for example, the Spanish civil war 1936-1939, and follow to be in the best condition - some of it recently restored -. Only a small part are, unfortunately, in bad condition.
This page will show progressively a representative part of that buildings.

Designed by the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and built in 1918.
This is the first agricultural building of Martinell.
The initial project was developed with the central aisle with two lines of cylindrical wine reservoirs, two other lines of subterranean cylindrical reservoirs and a transversal aisle for operation. Lately the other two aisles were built in 1930 and the last in 1948 with rectangular reservoirs to better take up the space, following the initial style mix of Art Nouveau and Noucentista style.
Martinell used equilibrated arches, not without problems because the mistrust of workers about the structure considered by them too light to support the building.
The aisle built in 1948 is larger of the other two, and has the elevated water reservoir.
The cellar of Rocafort de Queralt show a structure that will be the base for the future most important rural buildings of Cèsar Martinell: Aisles with equilibrated arches, monumental façades, big windows encircled by bricks for illumination and the base in stone.

Links: http://www.coac.net/martinell/imatges/rocafort_queralt/fitxa_rocafort_celler.html
Architectural large information and images  

Project of the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet based on previous studies made by the architect Joan Rubió i Bellver and the engineer Isidre Campllonch and built in 1919.
The building have two aisles where the reservoirs are aligned over and under the floor level.
The main gate is situated in the center of the bigger aisle, showing a big opening with five long open windows plus four closed windows - two at each side -. The ensemble under a big arch is crowned by a triangular frontispiece.
The Cooperative is now very active and maintains the building in good condition.

Links:
http://www.coopvila-rodona.com/index.html Web of wine coop
http://www.coac.net/martinell/imatges/vila_rodona/fitxa_vilarodona_celler.html
Architectural large information and images

Designed by the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and built around 1914.
This building is an example of a little cooperative and don't look, obviously, as a cathedral. Nevertheless it is an example of a small and simple agricultural building for a small village, but built with the same philosophy of other big cooperatives on this page.
The materials used are also very simple, basically stucco and bricks around the windows. The stone is only used around the main gate highlight also by bricks.

Designed by the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and built around 1911. Enlarged in 1917 by the same architect, under the patronage of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya (the Catalonia government at that time).
The façade show a nice combination of stone - basement - stucco, ceramic and brick around windows making a very harmonic ensemble. 

Designed by the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and built around 1920 for a Cooperative founded in 1912.
This is a small building not used at present as a cellar, nevertheless, the façade is very beautiful showing a combination of stone, ceramic and brick basically around the main door and windows.
The two ceramic panels at each side of the door are there to remind the function of the building.
The internal structure is similar to other buildings of C. Martinell.

Designed by the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and finished in 1919.
Martinell was commissioned by the Sindicat Agricola de Pira - founded in 1917 - to develop that project following the same criteria of other similar rural buildings.
The initial capacity of the cellar was 10.000 hl. lately enlarged.
The building has a central aisle logging the two central lines of reservoirs and two side lower aisles with one line of reservoirs and assuring the ventilation and illumination. Another two lines of reservoirs are under the two corridors.
At the back of the aisles it is an irregular transversal building to develop the operation.
The façade is symmetric with two gates in stone opened in the front of corridors and an ensemble of ornamental windows in brick making a very beautiful effect.

Links:
http://www.coac.net/martinell/imatges/pira/fitxa_pira_celler.html  Architectural large information and images 

Designed by the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and built around 1920 under the patronage of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya (the Catalonia government at that time).
Unfortunately the very beautiful façade is partially hide by the cabin of a pole.
The base of the façade including the two gates was built in stone as a support of the top part of building. That top was made in brick with a very beautiful design to put the accent in vertical structure.

Links:
http://www.coac.net/martinell/imatges/nulles/fitxa_nulles_celler.html Architectural large information and images

This "Cooperativa Agricola" was built in 1913 by Pere Domènech i Roura (the son of Lluís Domènech i Montaner).
The building is a mixture between Art Nouveau and Noucentisme styles - Noucentisme is the style following between 1910 and 1930 the Art Nouveau -
That building maintain a big working activity but this is compatible with a cultural use through the visit of building and of the very interesting Wine Museum.

Designed by the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and built around 1919.
The building is basically divided in three aisles, the two aisles of reservoirs with six lines of reservoirs and a central line of columns and the operation aisle.
This aisles are illuminated by lines of windows and the main gate is the last remainder of a gothic jail who was previously in the same place.
The façade on the street (see photo) is simple with the water reservoir in the center.
The building is an example of industrial Art Nouveau.

Links: http://www.coac.net/martinell/imatges/montblanc/fitxa_montblanc_celler.html
Architectural large information and images

Other cities and towns with interesting Art Nouveau works: