Archinect - News

Sagrada Família to be completed in 2026, officials say

2024-03-25T16:48:00-04:00

The completed construction of the Sagrada Família is now expected for 2026, multiple international outlets are reporting. The announcement made recently by the group responsible for managing its construction ends years of speculation as to the exact opening date for Antoni Gaudí’s monumental affirmation of religious life in his native Spain that began 142 years ago this month in Barcelona.

The new completion date coincides with the centennial anniversary of the architect's death at the age of 73 from injuries he sustained in a tram accident on his way home from the site.

Work will culminate first with the Chapel of the Assumption in 2025 and be followed by a crowning tower of Jesus Christ the next year. This comes after the temple's four canonical towers were debuted in December. A source also told The Guardian that its controversial grand staircase, an element some dispute was not Gaudí’s intention, could be added by 2034.

Related on Archinect: Gaudí's Sagrada Família acquires prop...

Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló overlaid with AI-informed artwork by Sofia Crespo

2024-01-30T11:46:00-05:00

Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona has served as the host for a major projection mapping artwork by Sofia Crespo over the weekend. Titled Structures of Being, the event drew 95,000 visitors across its showing on January 27th and 28th.

Image credit: Claudia Maurino

Created by Crespo with music by Robert M. Thomas, the project is described by organizers as “a spectacular setting that immersed the public in the nature contained inside Casa Batlló as well as in Gaudí's creative universe.” Created with the aid of artificial intelligence and the Barcelona Supercomputer Center, the project used data on the behavior of marine currents.

Image credit: Claudia Maurino

The artwork draws on Crespo’s interest in the boundaries of human perception in addition to her research into Gaudí’s own sources of inspiration. The resulting methodology saw Crespo use artificial neural networks to extract visual patterns from data inspired by the bra...

Sagrada Familia reaches important construction milestone

2023-10-03T18:41:00-04:00

More than 140 years after a Spanish bishop laid the cornerstone of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica, the famously incomplete church is inching toward the finish line, with five of its six central towers now finally fully built as of last week.

The four completed towers symbolize the Evangelist authors of the Bible’s canonical Gospels. The tallest tower, which represents Christ, will follow in 2026. Some doubts remain as to whether or not the construction timeline can stick to its scheduled completion by the end of that year, which will also see Barcelona’s turn as the UIA World Capital of Architecture.

A small contingent of residents who claim the destruction of Gaudí's papers by Anarchists during the Spanish Civil War constitutes grounds for an injunction remains an impediment. Controversial plans for a monumental grand staircase entrance to the Glory facade are also continuing over concerns of displacement that have marred their construction since the late 1970s.

Scaffolding at the site is expected to be removed soon.

Los Angeles approves car-free 'superblock' pilot program

2023-06-26T17:57:00-04:00

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday on a motion to identify a location to implement its first Park Block -- modeled after the city of Barcelona’s Superblocks, a block grid system that restricts traffic to major roads and opens up city blocks and streets to pedestrians.

The “Park Block” motion was initially introduced by Los Angeles District Councilmember Kevin de León last year. The program aims to save lives lost due to poor air quality and traffic violence. As detailed in a report by LA City Council’s Transportation Committee, the Blocks will serve to form open public space with adequate shade, outdoor recreation, greening, and stormwater capture in communities that lack parks.

Previously on Archinect: LA Councilmember introduces plan to establish Barcelona's car-free 'superblocks' in Los Angeles

The program will first be implemented in León’s District 14, which includes parts of downtown Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, and Eagle Rock. LA's Department of Transportation will choose which area will host the initial pilot, with priority given to communities that have the least access to public space, the highest health disparities, and high population densities. In addition, the Department will report back on what funding and resources are necessary to...

IAAC team’s mass timber nature observatory floats above a Barcelona forest

2023-05-16T12:13:00-04:00

A team from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) has constructed a timber observatory in a Barcelona forest to support analyses of nature. The group of students and researchers from the institution’s Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities program were inspired by the hanging walkways of American biologist Margaret D. Lowman.

Image credit: Adrià Goula

Located in the city’s Collserola Natural Park, and named the Forest Lab for Observational Research and Analysis (FLORA), the facility seeks to provide researchers a space to live and work in the forest canopy. Among the observatory’s facilities are a bird radio, bird houses, working and projection space, as well as bird watching spaces.

Image credit: Adrià Goula

The observatory’s design process began with students studying the biodiversity of the forest, including identifying various inhabitants from underground, aboveground, canopy, and sky levels. T...

IAAC team 3D prints a zero-waste housing prototype using local earth

2022-09-12T18:13:00-04:00

Barcelona's Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Italian 3D printer manufacturer WASP have created a building they say is the first made entirely of local materials and 3D printing technology in Spain.

Called "TOVA," the project was developed by a team of students and researchers from the 3D Printing Architecture (3DPA) postgraduate program of IAAC. The endeavor was born out of the institution’s ongoing research to find new ways of facing the social and environmental challenges of the future through its various education and research programs. The structure was conceived as a prototype for sustainable housing that could be built anywhere in the world.

Photo by Gregori Civera

TOVA was constructed at the Valldaura Labs facilities on the outskirts of Barcelona and is part of a larger project in collaboration with WASP that envisions a complete house. Together the teams are exploring the future of housing solutions as the threat of a global housing emergency loom...

LA Councilmember introduces plan to establish Barcelona's car-free 'superblocks' in Los Angeles

2022-08-15T18:23:00-04:00

Los Angeles District Councilmember Kevin de León recently introduced a motion proposing a program titled "Park Blocks," modeled after Barcelona’s Superblock initiative, which would establish usable public space for pedestrians and cyclists by closing certain streets to motorized vehicles.

Barcelona’s approach reconfigured vehicle circulation in its Eixample district, allowing for up to 70% of the street surface area to be used as public space. As noted in the motion, this move resulted in major drops in noise and air pollution and increased civic life for residents inside the blocks.

Previously on Archinect: Barcelona's bold new plan to get cars off the road

De León envisions "Park Blocks" as a means to save lives due to poor air quality and traffic violence as well as creating green and recreational spaces in communities lacking parks. They would reportedly also provide other benefits, such as establishing stormwater capture infrastructure.

"A successful program needs to be thoug...

First photos of Odile Decq's just-completed Barcelona debut

2022-06-08T13:39:00-04:00

Odile Decq has just announced the completion of her latest residential tower project called the Antares Barcelona.

Located along the Plaça de Llevant and characterized by a brilliant black, red, and white color scheme and layers of curved terraces, the tower rises 26 floors above Barcelona’s Museo Blau and Blue Flag Mediterranean beaches to hold 88 residential units in what is the French architect’s first-ever Barcelona design.

Image © Fernando Guerra

Each unit was personally designed by Decq and includes a suite of amenities. Per the architect, “This includes a 1,000-square-meter wellness area with a gym, steam rooms & sauna, green wall, indoor pool, yoga cocoon pods, a Sky Terrace with a rooftop infinity pool providing 360° unobstructed views of Barcelona, and a fully landscaped garden and outdoor pavilion.”

Image © Pere Peris

Image © Fernando Guerra

Decq said she set out to design a “truly innovative b...

New timber building by Haz Arquitectura employs a range of sustainable features to reduce its carbon footprint

2022-05-27T14:50:00-04:00

A new multi-use complex made nearly entirely of wood has been introduced to Barcelona’s Trinitat Vella district.

Called the Center for Community Life, the new public building will form part of a community facility hub for the districts of San Andreu and Nou Barris set to be built in the coming years. It will house various social services and bodies, including a Women’s Information and Attention Point, along with community housing and homes for young people and the elderly. The facility is the work of architects Manuel Sánchez-Villanueva and Carol Beuter of Haz Arquitectura, a studio with expertise in the construction of public and private spaces in the health, cultural, and social sectors, as well as offices and sports amenities.

Image Copyright José Hevia

Because this is the first building in the future complex, the firm wanted to avoid creating a major contrast with the upcoming projects. Therefore, they opted for a simple, abstract outer design that opens up to a future plaza tha...

Barcelona is developing a digital twin within a 19th-century chapel

2022-05-20T11:47:00-04:00

Barcelona has become the latest city to begin construction on a digital twin of itself. Currently in a test phase, the data-driven replica of the city is expected to be operational by 2027, at which point it will be used as an urban planning tool to shape the city’s future development.

The digital twin will be housed within the MareNostrum supercomputer, one of the world’s most powerful data processors, located within the city’s Torre Girona chapel. Originally constructed in the 19th century, the chapel was rebuilt in the 1940s following the Spanish Civil War, and now sits on the campus of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. The chapel has housed the supercomputer since 2005.

The MareNostrum supercomputer. Image courtesy of Barcelona Supercomputing Center

For city officials, the digital twin will offer urbanists, architects, and planners a means of testing urban theories and projects before implementation in order to understand their effects, without physically disrupting th...

Refik Anadol's Casa Batlló NFT sells for $1.38 million

2022-05-11T11:32:00-04:00

A landmark of the Art Nouveau style is on center stage after Refik Anadol’s NFT of the Casa Batlló sold for $1.38 million at Christe’s 21st Century Evening Sale last night.

Titled Living Architecture: Casa Batlló, the piece was commissioned by the group responsible for managing Gaudí’s converted House of Bones last year and is currently on display in a larger format outside the Christie’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters until May 13. It was also the lone digital-only lot to sell in the auction house’s marquee New York spring sales events this week.

Previously on Archinect: Refik Anadol unveils ‘first-of-its-kind’ AI artwork NFTs

A spokesperson with the Casa Batlló named Gary Gautier called Anadol a “perfect fellow traveler” and told reporters that his work “resides between art and technology, expands the possibilities of architecture and brings a new outlook beyond space and time.” Gautier also commented that the Turkish-American artist “connects past, present and future, reminding u...

IAAC students build advanced prototype greenhouse for food and energy production

2022-03-04T12:00:00-05:00

The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) has unveiled a prototype greenhouse which responds to urban food and energy needs. The Solar Greenhouse was designed and built by a team of students, professionals, and experts from the school’s Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities program, and was constructed in a natural park on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Photo © Adria Goula

The greenhouse has been designed to be replicated in rural and urban areas, and potentially to populate the rooftops of urban buildings. Responding to the European Union’s zero-emission goals for 2050, the project seeks to return food and energy production to cities with a compact structure that uses solar energy, sustainable materials, and advanced urban farming technology.

Photo © Adria Goula

“The aim was to design and build a system that could be replicated in both rural and urban areas,” the team says. “Solar Greenhouse is the result of the investigation and search of new ways...

Ricardo Bofill passes away aged 82

2022-01-14T10:46:00-05:00

The renowned Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill has passed away at the age of 82, as announced by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura. Among Bofill’s most acclaimed works were the La Muralla Roja (1973), La Fábrica (1975), and the National Theater of Catalonia (1997).

La Muralla Roja by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

Born in Barcelona in 1939, Bofill’s architectural training spanned from Barcelona to Geneva. In 1963, he founded Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, encompassing the fields of architecture, urban planning, and art. The firm was led by Bofill along with his two sons, Ricardo Emilio and Pablo, and was based from the Bofill-designed La Fábrica, a repurposed cement factory.

La Fabrica, Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura Headquarters

RBTA’s early works in the 1960s embraced vernacular details from Catalan architecture, an attention to detail which remained even as the firm’s projects grew in scale in later years. In the 21st century, the scale, complexity and ...

Influential Spanish architect and urban planner, Oriol Bohigas, has passed away at 95

2021-12-20T10:54:00-05:00

The global architecture community is mourning the loss of another titan after the New York Times reported the architect’s death from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Barcelona on November 30th at the age of 95.

Bohigas was influential in the modernist movement in Spain and became a prominent figure in the development of his hometown and its transformative turn hosting the Olympic Games in 1992.

Casa dels Xuklis by MBM Arquitectes (Josep Martorell, Oriol Bohigas, David Mackay, Oriol Capdevila and Francesc Gual)

Born in Barcelona in 1925, Bohigas came up under the post-Civil War Francoist era and fought his entire life to forge a place for modern architecture in his native Catalonia. He lectured at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSA) from 1964 until 1980 and participated in several leading progressive movements of the time, including the gauche divine.

After leaving the ETSA in 1980, Bohigas entered a successful career in politics and urban planning. Af...

Sagrada Família construction once again draws the ire of locals in Barcelona

2021-12-01T12:08:00-05:00

A gigantic 12-pointed star was installed on Monday on one of the main towers of the basilica of the Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece that has been a work in progress since 1882. [...] However, their main anxiety is that the foundation will go ahead with its plan to build an enormous stairway leading up to the basilica’s as-yet-unfinished main entrance which, if fully realised, would entail demolishing three entire city blocks, dislodging about 1,000 families and businesses.

Opponents have described the installation of the star as "aesthetically horrible" while the Archbishop of Barcelona called it "[a] historic moment after a year of darkness and tireless struggle."

The site has lost a considerable amount of money in the past year due to a tourist downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Losses of around 47,000 visitors a day have effectively shut down Barcelona's reviled tourism boom and halted construction on the 19th-century project which was expected to finally come to fruition in 2026 by at least two years, according to The Guardian.

Barcelona has been announced as the UIA's 2026 World Capital of Architecture

2021-07-29T18:53:00-04:00

Barcelona has been named the 2026 World Capital of Architecture by the International Union of Architects (UIA), joining Rio de Janeiro and Copenhagen on a list of cities to receive the UNESCO-backed distinction.

The Catalan capital beat out Beijing for the next edition of the honor and will now host the UIA’s triennial conference and general assembly following the recent anointment of Copenhagen, which will hold the title in 2023.

Barcelona’s winning bid was titled “One today, one tomorrow” and will explore the city’s relationship to sustainability drives and the future of architecture “with the aim of transferring [to] the whole of the society the importance and value of architecture and urbanism,” according to a COAC statement.

The congress is slated to coincide with the long-awaited completion of the Sagrada Familia in time for the 100th anniversary of the tragic death of its architect An...

Barcelona to create car-free "superblocks"

2020-11-18T12:55:00-05:00

At a press conference Wednesday, Mayor Ada Colau announced that 21 streets in Barcelona’s Eixample district will become a kind of super-superblock — vehicle traffic will only be permitted around the perimeter, leaving streets within the district only accessible by motor vehicle to residents, essential services or deliveries. By all-but-barring cars, Barcelona will free up space for 21 new pedestrian plazas at intersections.

According to Bloomberg CityLab, the squares and streets that will be come the future superblocks will be planted with trees that will shade 16 acres of new green space when mature. The area will also contain an additional 33.4 hectares of pedestrian space. Work will begin in 2022 with a the project running on a projected budget of $45 million, making it "one of the most thorough revamps of a major European city so far this century," Bloomberg CityLab reports.

Section cut of pedestrian space condition with planted trees.

Designer Sabine Marcelis channels Mies van der Rohe's use of glass as inspiration for her exhibition in Barcelona

2020-01-06T12:30:00-05:00

Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis creates a visually mesmerizing exhibition playing with glass and its material capabilities in No Fear of Glass. Currently exhibited at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Sabine sought to create pieces in response to a request made to Mies during the construction of his 1929 German Pavilion.

No Fear of Glass. Image © Jose Hevia

According to a press statement from the exhibition, Mies was asked to "not use too much glass." For this special exhibition, Marcelis uses the material in ways that push its materiality and structural composition. Marcelis creates two large, curved, chaise, glass lounge pieces with tints of vibrantly fading color. A single glass sheet is inserted into solid travertine pieces that support the glass in place. In addition to the lounge pieces, the pavilion is filled with chrome columns, a mirrored-glass column, and a curved glass fountain loc...

Images of Odile Decq's first residential building in Barcelona are unveiled

2019-12-11T12:15:00-05:00

Famed French architect Odile Decq reveals images of her first residential project in Barcelona. The studio is responsible for designing the interiors as well as the architecture for the luxury residential tower that is located along the Mediterranean Sea. According to Decq and her team each residential home within the tower is "designed with sensory, visionary living in mind."

Antares - Lobby. Renderings © Odile Decq Antares

Antares. Renderings © Odile Decq Antares

Its exterior exhibits bold red color accents and curved terraces while it's interiors and furnished pieces, also designed by Decq, ring true to the architect's desires to bridge her evocative yet gentle approach to design. According to a press statement, Decq was chosen for the project by the tower's developer Luxenborg-based Shaftsbury due to the "bold and dramatic architectural statement" Decq would deliver.

Antares. Renderings © Odile Decq Antares

Antares. Renderings © Odile Decq An...

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia acquires proper permits

2019-06-10T12:58:00-04:00

She told reporters that the council had finally managed to "resolve a historical anomaly in the city -- that an emblematic monument like the Sagrada Familia... didn't have a building permit, that it was being constructed illegally," Agence France-Presse reported.

Despite being under construction for 137 years, Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain has never had proper building permits. That is, until now.

CNN reports that Barcelona's chief urban planner announced last week that the city council had finally awarded the committee responsible for the cathedral's construction with a building license. In exchange for the license, the group agreed to pay 4.6 million euros to fund additional mitigation measures to address the impact the cathedral's 4.5 million annual visitors have on surrounding areas.

Detail shot of the Sagrada Famila's decorative spires, Image courtesy Wikimedia user Poniol60.

According to the committee, Gaudi applied for a building permit from the local authorities back in 1882, but apparently, he never heard back. That did not, however, stop the architect from starting construction that year, a monumental task that has been going strong for over a century and is due to be completed in 2026.

Detail view...

Get Lectured: UIC Barcelona, Foros '19

2019-01-30T15:50:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Spring 2019

It's time for Archinect's latest Get Lectured, an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back regularly to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

On February 11, the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture will kick off their #Foros2019 lecture series, which will focus on “the debate on the concept of identity in contemporary architecture, a field heavily influenced by the forces of globalization. Seven professionals and academics will discuss how globalizing dynamics put in question the territorial and local architecture discourse.”

The lecture series opens with a conference by UIC Barcelona anthropology professor Manuel Delgado. The following sessions will feature: Comparative Literature professor Daniele Gi...

A new documentary series explores Flores & Prats' renovation of a Barcelona theatre

2018-02-15T15:23:00-05:00

Flores & Prats Architects have released a new documentary series, ESCALA 1:5, focusing on their design for Sala Beckett Theatre and International Drama Centre in Barcelona.

Sala Beckett Theatre facade, by Flores & Prats, located in Barcelona. Image: Adrià Goula.

The series consists of 5 episodes each 10 minutes long, produced by 15-L. Films and directed by Patricia Tamayo and Albert Badia. Retracing the journey behind the architectural renovation, this short series documents the space and the bond which ties the building to its neighborhood.

Still from 'ESCALA 1:5' series, by Flores & Prats. Image: Flores & Prats.

Starring architects Ricardo Flores and Eva Prats, the film also includes Toni Casares, the director of Sala Beckett, as well as Sergi Belbel, playwright and former director of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, artists Soraya Smithson and Antoni Miralda, and designer Curro Claret.

Ticket box entry of Sala Beckett, by Flores & Prats, located in Barcelona. Image: Adrià Goul...

PHOTOS: Gaudí's first house, the exuberant Casa Vicens, is opening to the public for the first time

2017-11-03T18:42:00-04:00

Brand Barcelona’s comeback begins with a contribution from its heaviest hitter: Antoni Gaudí. Almost a century after his death, the architect of La Sagrada Familia is still synonymous with the city. On 16 November, Gaudí’s first house, Casa Vicens, begun in 1883, will open permanently to the public for the first time.

With tourism considerably down due to mass demonstrations and political unrest, Catalonia's capital Barcelona is hoping to lure more visitors back when a stunning architectural gem in the Gràcia district opens to the public on November 16: Casa Vicens, a summer house for wealthy industrialist Manel Vicens i Montaner, was the first important commission that the young, and then-unknown, architect Antoni Gaudí received in 1883 — and it would shape the trajectory of all his architectural work to come.

Learn more about Casa Vicens, and the meticulous restoration that took place over the past months, on its official website.

Scroll on for more photographs of the gorgeous building.

All images courtesy of Casa Vicens Gaudí.

Barcelona terrorists were planning a bombing of Sagrada Família

2017-08-23T13:50:00-04:00

The terror cell that brought carnage to north-eastern Spain, killing 15 people and injuring more than 130, was planning attacks on a much larger scale, including the bombing of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família church, a suspect has told a court. Mohamed Houli Chemlal made the admission after being brought before a judge in Madrid, Spanish media reported, quoting court officials.

As the hearing progressed, police were attempting to reconstruct the final 96 hours in the life of the member of the cell who killed 13 people and injured more than 130 others when he drove a hired Fiat van along the crowded Las Ramblas last Thursday.

The latest in additive and advance manufacturing at Barcelona Industry Week

2017-05-09T00:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by IN(3D)USTRY.

The first edition of IN(3D)USTRY: From Needs to Solutions was held in 2016—an exclusive 3-day event that brought together the most advance additive manufacturing solutions in key sectors such as healthcare, automotive & aeronautics, retail and architecture.

More than 3000 visitors attended IN(3D)USTRY 2016, an event featuring more than 100 important speakers and more than 40 companies from 20 different countries. Companies such as HP or Renishaw exhibited new Additive manufacturing technologies that aim to revolutionize the industry by providing a faster and more economical solution with increased freedom of creation, compared to other traditional methods.

In the last edition, speakers from architecture studios and the world leading laaC (the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia) discussed how to change the way large structures are built and how these new approaches will open paradigm-changing scenarios full of opportunities and f...

Get Lectured: UIC Barcelona, Foros 2017

2017-02-02T14:22:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter & Spring 2017

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session for Winter and Spring 2017. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss. Mark those calendars!

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

On February 6, the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture will launch its 2017 Foros Lecture Series, “The Agency of Architecture”, as part of their 20th anniversary celebration. Directed by dpr-barcelona co-founder Ethel Baraona, the series seeks “to give voice to practices that constantly strive to enrich, alter or call into question that which we believe the agency of architecture should be in our own environment”.

Feb 6
Ines Weizman / Professor of Architectural Theory + Director of the Institute ...

IN(3D)USTRY - The Show

2016-09-29T03:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by IN(3D)USTRY From Needs to Solutions.

The first edition of IN(3D)USTRY From Needs to Solutions, which took place from June 21st to June 23rd 2016 at Fira de Barcelona, successfully introduced an entirely new concept for exploring the possibilities offered by additive manufacturing and 3D printing across four key industrial sectors.

The event showcased both the present of additive manufacturing, as well as its promising future, by focusing on the challenges 3D printing presents, and offering innovative, pioneering, and state-of-the-art solutions to manufacturers’ specific needs.

Over the three-day event, prominent international speakers took to the stage to describe their experiences with additive manufacturing in the four most important vertical sectors: Aerospace & Automotive, Healthcare, Architecture & Habitat, and Consumer & Retail Goods.

This unique approach stimulated participants to explore the many different solutions already offered by additive man...

How to retake a city from the wealthy elite: a guide by Barcelona en Comú

2016-06-22T12:54:00-04:00

In May 2015, the citizen platform Barcelona en Comú (Barcelona in Common) catapulted Ada Colau into power as the city’s first female mayor. Ten months earlier, the group didn’t even exist. With no money and little experience, just how did they wrest the city from the entrenched political caste that had been running it for the past 40 years? Not surprisingly, Barcelona en Comú has since been inundated with requests for an answer...

"In response, the group produced a step-by-step explanation – How to Win Back the City en Comú"

Barcelona en Comú is a citizen platform launched in 2014 that is the minority government in power right now in Barcelona. Many of its members participated in the 15M movement and come from political organizing backgrounds, and the organization has ties to Podemos.

The full title of the guide, which is available as a pdf here, is How to win back the city en comú: guide to building a citizen municipal platform.

"For us, 'winning back the city' is about much more than winning the local elections," they write. "It means putting a new, transparent and participatory model of local government, which is under citizen control, into practice."

The guide describes how to create such a platform, from pre-launch organization to winning an election. It explicates financing models and electoral structuring.

A scant 10 pages, the guide is accessible and well-designed. Spain has recently witnessed a bit of a ...

Barcelona's bold new plan to get cars off the road

2016-05-18T13:09:00-04:00

In the latest attempt from a big city to move away from car hegemony, Barcelona has ambitious plans. Currently faced with excessive pollution and noise levels, the city has come up with a new mobility plan to reduce traffic by 21%. And it comes with something extra: freeing up nearly 60% of streets currently used by cars to turn them into so-called “citizen spaces”.

"The plan is based around the idea of superilles (superblocks) – mini neighbourhoods around which traffic will flow, and in which spaces will be repurposed to “fill our city with life”, as its tagline says."

A precedent for Barcelona's superblocks was actually instituted in the city back in the late 19th century when Ildefons Cerdà planned Eixample, a district intended to free up the crowded medieval neighborhoods of the old city. With their famous beveled corners, Cerdà's large residential blocks were intended to serve as lungs for the city, with interior courtyards to provide greenery on a regular and frequent basis.

But urban development laid waste to Cerdà's carefully-laid plans. Today, the city loses about 3,500 citizens each year to air pollution.

The bold new plan comprises a series of interventions to create "superblocks" from nine of Cerdà's smaller blocks. The initiative starts with restricting vehicular traffic to primarily the perimeter streets.

City officials hope that by i...

Get Lectured: UIC Barcelona, Foros 2016

2016-01-18T14:49:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2016

Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Our next featured poster comes from the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture with their 2016 Foros lecture series: "Origin." Returning for its 11th cycle, the 2016 cycle "invites reflection on the origins of ideas, something that can be invisible and hard to describe but often capable of changing circumstances."

Lectures take place at 7:00 p.m. on campus.

Feb 1
Christoph Hölscher & Victor Schinazi / Directors of Cognitive Science - ETH Zurich

Feb 15
Luis Martínez Santa-María

Feb 29
Arquitectura-G

March 14
Harquitectes

April 18
Baukuh

April 25
Pascal Flamme...