The Quixote’s Constructions (2023)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erzCeUc5Kts Short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_nFwrhD-i8&t=1s In times when manual work is little valued and the prefabricated is what prevails, an 83-year-old man takes on, like a Quixote, a completely disinterested struggle for the preservation of one of the treasures of Catalan architecture: the construction system known as bóveda or volta catalana (Catalan vault). In his scenographic and almost Babylonian redoubt in Alella - 20 kilometres from the Sagrada Família - Ramon Guarda i Parera dedicated the last days of his life to teaching the technique of vaulting. He designs, builds, climbs scaffolding, but above all he teaches: some students visit him personally, others - 170,000 students - are his followers on YouToube, where Ramon uploads the videos he himself makes while he builds. From a cinematographic point of view, we are interested firstly in showing the craft of Catalan vaulting because there are no high quality recordings: those that exist are videos of amateurs or of Ramon himself. Secondly, we see in the construction of the vault the metaphor of a more democratic society, where the burdens, the effort and the responsibilities are distributed among all the members and it only works if everyone supports each other as happens with the bricks of a vault. In a world where most people only know how to use keyboards, touch screens and fitness equipment, Ramon is inspiring to many eyes. He teaches a construction technique which is vital to the autonomy and stability of society. Safe living space can be created by hand with simple tools and claybricks, leaving out big companies, concrete and steel.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erzCeUc5Kts Short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_nFwrhD-i8&t=1s

In times when manual work is little valued and the prefabricated is what prevails, an 83-year-old man takes on, like a Quixote, a completely disinterested struggle for the preservation of one of the treasures of Catalan architecture: the construction system known as bóveda or volta catalana (Catalan vault). In his scenographic and almost Babylonian redoubt in Alella - 20 kilometres from the Sagrada Família - Ramon Guarda i Parera dedicated the last days of his life to teaching the technique of vaulting. He designs, builds, climbs scaffolding, but above all he teaches: some students visit him personally, others - 170,000 students - are his followers on YouToube, where Ramon uploads the videos he himself makes while he builds. From a cinematographic point of view, we are interested firstly in showing the craft of Catalan vaulting because there are no high quality recordings: those that exist are videos of amateurs or of Ramon himself. Secondly, we see in the construction of the vault the metaphor of a more democratic society, where the burdens, the effort and the responsibilities are distributed among all the members and it only works if everyone supports each other as happens with the bricks of a vault. In a world where most people only know how to use keyboards, touch screens and fitness equipment, Ramon is inspiring to many eyes. He teaches a construction technique which is vital to the autonomy and stability of society. Safe living space can be created by hand with simple tools and claybricks, leaving out big companies, concrete and steel.