The Bosch Vault: Reinterpretation and Exploration of the Limits of the Traditional Thin-Tile Vault in the Post-War Context

Abstract

After the Spanish Civil War, the shortage of building materials in the country and the restrictions imposed by the Dirección General de Arquitectura limited the use of steel in construction, encouraging solutions that reduced the consumption of this material. In this context, the thin-tile vault gained new relevance due to its low cost, speed of execution and good structural and fire performance. Among the architects who revisited this system, Ignasi Bosch Reitg (1910–1985) developed an innovative procedure for the construction of continuous ceilings, based on double-curved vaults with a single layer of brick. His cousin, Josep Maria Bosch Aymerich (1917–2015), an industrial engineer and architect trained in the United States, brought a business vision to the table when he discovered the potential of this system. This paper proposes an in-depth study of the patents requested on this system by the two architects, questioning the reasons for their success or failure in different countries, both in terms of dissemination and exploitation, in regard to the historical context in which it was developed. The analysis, based on original documents from the Bosch Aymerich Archive, uncovers the tensions that the reinterpretation and global projection of a traditional technique can generate.