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BCN RE.SET

Ephemeral urbanism

By Brian Gallagher 29.07.14

The nature of urban space and how it is occupied is the focus of this ephemeral project which consists of 7 interventions within public open spaces located in the Raval, Gòtic, Ciutadella and Barceloneta neighbourhoods of the city. Connected with the activities marking the tercentenary celebrations of Barcelona the idea was to invite international profile architects to pair with local architectural schools (LASALLE, ESARQ-UIC, IAAC and ELISAVA) in order to explore different concepts associated with 1714; Identity, Freedom, Diversity, Democracy, Memory and Europe. These structures will subsequently be recycled and relocated to other areas. The architects were selected by Benedetta Tagliabue (of EMBT), curator of the project and co-author of one of the interventions within the Parc de la Ciutadella, they others are respectively; Urbanus, Anupama Kundoo, Odile Decq, Peter Cook with Yael Reisner, Grafton Architects and ETH Zurich & Urban Think Tank.

Although on the one hand public space and how it is occupied in Barcelona seems to be increasingly under threat (the right to public protest on the city’s streets, the eviction of 15M from Plaza de Cataluña) institutional support for the ‘right kind of cultural projects’ (Can Vies need not apply) is clearly channelled along political lines with BCN RE.SET, which celebrates all that sets Catalonia apart. Nonetheless each of the interventions provides a fascinating take on these spaces from the perspective of world renowned architects taking a fresh look at Barcelona’s squares; Plaça Nova (Gotico), Plaça Salvador Seguí (The Raval), Plaça del Mar (Barceloneta), Plaça dels Angels (El Raval) Plaça de la Mercé (El Raval), Arc de Triomf (Sant Pere) and the Ciutadella park.

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    'Identity' Placa Nova, Urbanus (China), La Salle (URL)

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    'Memory', Arc de Triomf, Grafton Architects (Ireland), Elisava (UPF)

    Some of the projects are sublime both in terms of their concept and their making, specifically the Urbanus intervention which deals with Identity and evokes the ghost of an aqueduct in Plaça Nova adjacent to the remaining Roman ruins. Constructed from a repetitive 3D timber cross with slots the overall effect is mesmeric, like a shadow or a hologram, we’re not quite sure if it’s real or projected. Others adopt a more political agenda, such as Take my Hand, A daily celebration of Rights & Civil Weddings, Peter Cook with Yael Reisner inspired by its poetic location between the civil registry office and the Basílica de la Mercè. The intervention consists of a catwalk with a suspended inflatable palm overhead where newly married couple whether from the church or the council building can pose for photographs. The library of Lost Books, designed by Anupama Kundoo located directly in front of the Filmoteca (Plaça Salvador Seguí) consists of three umbrella like structures with vacuum packed books forming the canopies. Some of the projects however are poorly built and unfinished, difficult to interpret and wide of the mark in terms of their theme. Opportunities lost as well as gained for a debate on how the city interprets its past and looks toward its future, on how we might inhabit the Barcelona of tomorrow.        

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    'Libertad' Placa del Salvador Seguí, Anupama Kundo (India/Australia), IAAC

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    'Diversity' Placa dels Àngels, Studio Odile Decq (France), Recetas Colectiva

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    'Democracy' Placa de la Mercè, Peter Cook (UK) & Yael Reismar (Israel), Stradde3

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    'Europe' Placa del Mar, ETH Zurich & Urban Think Tank (Switzerland-Venezuela)

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    Opening ceremony for ‘El muro de la Ciutadella’,  Benedetta Tagliabue with Àlex Ollé