Jordi Bonet, architect and former director of works at Sagrada Família, dies aged 97

Catalan architect, Jordi Bonet, has died at the age of 97, his family announced on social media in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Bonet was the director and coordinator of construction work at the Basilica of the Sagrada Família from 1985 to 2012, a position also held by his father, a direct disciple of Antoni Gaudí.

Born in Barcelona in 1925, he received the City of Barcelona prize in 1989 for the restoration of Casa Garriga Nogués, and several awards for his work on the Sagrada Família, including the Saint George's Cross (Creu de Sant Jordi) from the Catalan government in 1990 and the Cross of Alfonso X the Wise in 2006.

His architectural work was extensive with numerous houses, apartment blocks, auditoriums, theaters, schools and churches, as well as urban plans.

He was director of the artistic and cultural heritage of Catalonia; a World Scout leader, a member of the 'Pontificium Consilium pro Laicis' and president of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi (1998-2011).

He published the books: 'Architecture in the Service of Music' (1986), 'Temple of the Sagrada Família' (1992), 'The Last Gaudí' (2000), and 'The Schools of the Sagrada Família' (2003). He wrote several articles and gave numerous lectures around the world on topics such as Gaudí, architectural heritage and restoration of buildings as a visiting professor at various universities.

During his time as director of the artistic and cultural heritage of Catalonia, he bought 44 artworks from the Sixena monastery collection, which were displayed at Lleida Museum and are still at the center of a dispute between Catalonia and neighboring Aragon. Bonet said at the time in an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that they had been acquired to "save" them.

"He lived with passion for architecture, scouting and culture. A man faithful to Catalonia and to faith, a lover of a job well done, values he learned from his parents and which he has passed on to us ", his son Lluís Bonet wrote on Twitter.

His granddaughter Mireia wrote: "He was a good and generous man, active for the country, an enthusiast of architecture, culture, scouting, skiing, and a patriot who brought Catalonia and Gaudí around the world."