Josep Llinàs © CSCAE

Many architects are hesitant to acknowledge the influence of mentors, but Josep Llinàs has always been explicit in this regard, in particular about his devotion to Jujol and Sota. Combining the former’s vital spark and the latter’s rational serenity has produced a body of work that shows a high dose of the sensitivity required to engage in dialogue with existing buildings (as in the restoration jobs that the two masters carried out in Tarragona for the Teatre Metropol and the Civil Government Delegation) and urban fabrics (Town Hall of Vilaseca, Public Library of the Gracia neighborhood), without sacrificing his own language (Jaume Fuster Library, Eye Microsurgery Institute). This coherent practice, parallel to an intensive academic career, merits the Gold Medal of the Spanish Association of Architecture Institutes.