We Present a Study of Forging in Masó's Architecture

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

At the Technical Conference on Catalonia's Metallurgical Heritage

The director of the Fundació, Jordi Falgàs, will take part on 6 November in the Technical Conference on Catalonia's Metallurgical Heritage, a four-day event held in Ripoll and Terrassa. Falgàs will participate in a session devoted to research and heritage preservation projects, contributing to a paper entitled "Researching and Promoting a Little-Known Heritage of Girona: The Book The Art of Forging in Architecture", together with the book's other authors, Lluïsa Amenós and Pere Freixas. Falgàs will present his contribution to the volume, which is due to be published in the coming months. His chapter examines the role of wrought ironwork in Modernisme and Noucentisme architecture in Girona, focusing in particular on the work of Rafael Masó and his relationship with metalworker Nonito Cadenas.

The National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia (MNACTEC), the Ripoll Ethnographic Museum and the Iron Route in the Pyrenees are organising this Technical Conference to study, promote and highlight Catalonia's heritage of ironwork and forging. Included in the Catalan Metallurgical Heritage Plan, the conference also aims to address the needs of museums, professionals, companies and institutions involved in the conservation and restoration of industrial, scientific and technical heritage. Particular emphasis will be placed on research, knowledge, conservation, restoration and the promotion of metal bridges as major examples of engineering and construction heritage, as well as on the challenges posed by their everyday public use. The aim is to establish guidelines and approaches for the preventive conservation and restoration of these important elements of technological and industrial heritage.

The conference will take place in Ripoll on 5 and 6 November, and in Terrassa on 12 and 13 November.

Photo: Rafael Masó, Hall Stand with Umbrella Holder, Casa Salieti, Girona, c. 1910. Wrought iron and brass ring, 204 × 65 cm. Made for the entrance hall of Casa Salieti in Girona. Masó's design was executed by the blacksmith and craftsman Nonito Cadenas. Fundació Rafael Masó, inv. no. 0893. Acquired in 2013. On loan to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona.