Project: Las Arenas, Barcelona
Client: Metrovesca (originally Sacresa)
Design: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
The Las Arenas bullring restoration project in Barcelona has certainly had its fair share of odds being stacked against it. Whether it has been architectural squabbles, the weather, or Basque protests because they view bullfighting as an expression of their culture, all in all it has taken more than 10 years for the project to complete.
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was originally appointed by Barcelona-based developer Sacresa to redevelop the city’s emblematic bullring into a major new mixed-use retail, leisure and entertainment complex in 2000. The scheme was subsequently taken over by Spanish property company Metrovesca.
RSH + P was also working alongside Alonso Balaguer y Arquitectos Asociados and came up against PR-orientated differences. The UK architects were unhappy that their Spanish counterparts were claiming the bullring had been elevated 4m off the ground; the RSH +P team asserted the ground beneath it had simply been dug away. Things were also slowed by persistent rain in 2004 and Spain’s recent economic problems. There was also the Catalonian municipality’s declaration that Barcelona was an anti-bullfighting city in 2004, which made the project fuel to the fire of the Basque people’s outrage at the perceived infringement of civil liberties.
Despite all these obstacles, the development opened in 2011 and regardless of planning, heritage and money issues, is a sight to behold – a wonderful feat of design.
The popularity of bullfighting had long been declining, leading to the disuse of the building which, with its striking facade, had been a landmark for the city since its construction in the 19th century. The building’s strong cultural and civic role meant that the city council specified it must remain. Within this historic facade the RSH+P team has designed 47,000 sq m of mixed activities over five floors, as well as parking space in a basement level.
In addition to the retail space there is a multiplex cinema, gym and restaurants. Plus, there is a whole new building, the Eforum, which also features two floors of retail and leisure alongside four levels of office space above. The Eforum is connected to the bullring at ground level, the retail level, and has two panoramic, partially glazed lifts.
RSH+P has created what is effectively a 100m-diameter habitable ‘dish’ with a 76m-wide domed roof, floating over the original structure of the facade. It is known as the plaza in the sky and incorporates large terraces, cafes and restaurants. The dish is supported by four huge pylons which span out from the atrium in a cruciform shape, creating the base for the various spaces and structures within the facade. For example, the cinema areas nestle within the voids between the structural features, in large cantilevered steel boxes.
The retail area itself is on the first two levels and has a more conventional layout, with concrete columns and floor slabs making up the space. The design of the column layout provides the different retail zones that contain 116 shops, including Desigual, Intimissimi, Mango, Calvin Klein, Game, Lush and Nespresso.
Using advanced architectural and engineering technologies, this project has successfully transformed a landmark symbol – a vibrant part of Spain’s history – into a new, exciting part of Spain’s future. Rain or no rain.
