Barcelona City Council unblocks the reconstruction of the Escola del Mar

BarcelonaChange of course in the reconstruction of the School of the Sea, Josep Goday's legendary educational center on Pescadores beach in Barceloneta. After the political change at Barcelona City Council shelved the proposal, this Friday architect Marc Cuixart, the driving force behind the project and Goday's assistant, announced that the meeting he had a few days ago with Barcelona's chief architect, Maria Buhigas, and the Councilor for Education, Lluís Rabell, was "hopeful." "The municipal architect's tone surprised me," Cuixart said during one of the conference's presentations. The Museum of Education of Catalonia: a dream for the future at the Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC), because the rebuilt Escola del Mar is planned to be a home for the future Museum of Education and Pedagogy of Catalonia.

The conference was organized by the Society for the History of Education of Catalan-Speaking Countries and the Society of Catalan Pedagogy, and shortly after Cuixart's closing remarks, Lluís Rabell himself officially announced the city council's willingness to resume the project. "As Barcelona City Council, we feel challenged, and we have made the commitment to work very intensively next year with the Generalitat and the Barcelona Provincial Council on the proper conceptualization of the museum and on clearly defining the Escola del Mar, because it must be functional and forward-looking," said Rabell. "We are going to find solutions to resolve this, which is not easy, especially from an urban planning perspective, in order to find suitable locations. Barcelona City Council is enthusiastic about the museum project," he emphasized.

During the presentation, Cuixart explained that if the project goes ahead, it won't be possible to build it on Pescadores beach and that a new site will have to be found, which wouldn't be one of those proposed by the Comuneros a few years ago. One of the reasons is the impact of climate change on the coast, while another, more heartbreaking one, is that if permission were granted to rebuild the Escola del Mar in the same location, there would be an avalanche of similar requests because many buildings are at risk due to the coastal law.

For the president of the Catalan Pedagogical Society of the IEC, Josep Serentill, the recovery of the building, which is a pioneering wooden construction, will be a major milestone. "The reconstruction of the Escola del Mar will have an international impact that will once again position Barcelona as a benchmark," he stressed. Regarding support from the Generalitat (Catalan Government), the museum is not among the facilities included in the 2030 museum plan, but the government is working on the heritage status of objects that could be included. A few years ago, the Grífols family put 4 million euros on the table to build the building, and this Friday, Cuixart explained that this figure would now be insufficient.

After the socialist government After the project was shelved, it received a new boost when, in July of last year, ERC proposed bringing it back to the Committee on Social Rights, Culture and Sports, with the support of all parties except Vox. However, the project remained shelved until now. Before this presentation, Cuixart explained his project at the College of Architects of Catalonia about ten days ago. in a debate organized by the Association of Architects for the Defense and Intervention in Architectural Heritage (AADIPA). "This is good news that will have to be concretized. The work and persistence of the Promoter Group of the Museum of Education of Catalonia must bear fruit," wrote ERC councilor Jordi Castellana in X. "ERC Barcelona has insisted, and now we must ensure that the agreements are implemented as they should be. Forward!" he emphasized.

The "logo" of the future Museum of Education

For Cuixart, the rebuilt Escola del Mar would be "the image" of the future Museum of Education and Pedagogy of Catalonia, like a "logo." He is also aware that the reconstruction cannot be identical to the original, due to current regulations and the change in uses. The Escola del Mar was a wooden building in the shape of an open U, raised above the beach by stone pillars covered in stone.

In the reconstruction project, Cuixart proposes using the space under the first floor for the air conditioning equipment, the elevator, and the service connection, as well as for storage, as it was originally used. Regarding the central body, there would be the entrance, the staircase, and the elevator, as well as the administrative area, the restrooms, the meeting room, a cafeteria, and other spaces. Finally, the wings would have four rooms of 120 m2.² each one.