Emilio Bofill

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Emilio Bofill Benessat (1907–2000) was a Spanish builder with a strong background in architecture. He’s been described as “the constructor whom every architect wanted to build their work.”

He was born in 1907 in Catalonia into a well‑established family. His father, Josep Maria Bofill i Pichot, was a physician and entomologist involved with several Catalan scientific institutions. Emilio studied at the Barcelona School of Architecture, graduating in 1931 with a group of notable Catalan architects. Although he never became a licensed architect, he played a central role in design and building and is often referred to as a builder.

Bofill kept close ties with the GATCPAC modernist circle and was a longtime friend of Antoni Bonet i Castellana, Josep Lluís Sert, and Joan Miró. A scholar noted that many architects wanted Emilio Bofill’s firm to build their projects to ensure good collaboration and a holistic approach.

He fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Republican side. After the defeat in 1939, he was acquitted by a court-martial. He remained committed to the Catalan republican cause and the ERC party, even though he wasn’t a linguistic nationalist and preferred Castilian in daily life. His son Ricardo called him republican, liberal, progressive, austere and logical.

Emilio married Maria Levi, who became an important sponsor of Catalan literature after the war. They had three children: José María (1936–1951), Ricardo (1939–2022), and Anna (born 1944). José María died of tuberculosis. Ricardo later became one of the most important architects of his generation, and Anna became a recognized musician and feminist activist.

In the postwar period, Emilio’s building firm had an office in the Banco de Vizcaya building on Plaça de Catalunya. One standout project is La Ricarda, the house by Antoni Bonet i Castellana in El Prat de Llobregat, built between the airport runways and the sea and now a museum.

In the early 1960s, Emilio helped and mentored his surviving son as he created a multidisciplinary team that became Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura in 1963. Emilio was involved in the design and early major projects of the Taller. He also worked with Xavier Corberó at his palatial house and architectural complex in Esplugues de Llobregat and helped restore nearby houses.

After retiring in the 1970s, Emilio devoted himself to reforming the College of the Rosary in Sant Julià de Vilatorta near Vic, where he owned land and a family house. One of the college’s main rooms is named after him.