The Barcelona City Council unblocks the Can Batlló project with an investment of 98 million

BarcelonaAlmost a decade after the ambitious project to convert the central nave of the Can Batlló industrial complex into a large open agora for residents and the sole headquarters for all city archives was presented, the municipal government has taken a step forward to unblock a long-demanded infrastructure. "With this announcement, what we have had to wait for so many years we are making happen. Construction begins in the first quarter of next year," highlighted the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni.

The original project, from 2018, with a budget of 47 million euros, had been completely halted, according to Collboni, due to the covid-19 pandemic, political changes, and a lack of real financial resources. Now, the transformation of Block 8, in the Bordeta neighborhood's factory complex, is gaining new momentum with a financial injection: the budget is practically doubling, reaching 98 million euros: “The increase is due to the update of market prices and an expansion of the usable space, which grows by 5,000 square meters compared to the last tender,” Collboni reported. “It will have 30,000 square meters, a size larger than that of the Disseny Hub and will be one of the largest cultural facilities in the city,” he added. Construction will last until 2034, but the mayor has guaranteed that spaces will be gradually opened.

Obsolete archives at saturation point

Barcelona's historical archives have always prided themselves on preserving the city's memory: there are documents spanning twelve centuries of history, from the 9th to the 21st. Inside each folder are millions of stories: power struggles, urban revolutions, bombing records, municipal regulations on prostitution, assassinations, or neighborhood demands. Not to mention all the documentation generated daily. But they have become obsolete. "The current situation presents deficiencies in access difficulty, obsolescence, and a space limit that has already reached 95%," warns Barcelona's chief archivist, Ana María Pazos. All the documentation currently dispersed across 23 archive centers and municipal departments will be moved to Can Batlló. In total, there will be 70 kilometers of physical memory.

When the visitor enters the central nave of Can Batlló, currently a large empty factory skeleton, they will find an immense hall. According to the team of architects in charge of the project —the UTE comprising OP Tema Arquitectura, Mendoza Partida, and Ramon Valls—, which won the public competition ten years ago, it will be "a great agora." Its 1,900 square meters will serve as a transit area, a large exhibition hall, temporary exhibition rooms, educational classrooms, a shop, a cafeteria, and an auditorium with a capacity for 1,200 people. All these spaces will be accessible from the street, allowing them to be autonomous and have their own schedule. It will be the part that retains the most original elements of the building, recovering the roofs, the facade, and the interior space. The second floor will house a large consultation room, more accessible and much better equipped than those currently available in the city's various archives. On the third floor, there will be offices. The other half of the building will have up to six floors, where the documentary collection will be located.

Space freed up for housing

With the unification of the documentary funds, the City Council will manage to free up about twenty different locations covering nearly 17,000 square meters of facilities. "Enough space will be freed up for endowed housing in saturated critical points such as the Ciutat Vella district, in areas like Bisbe Caçador street, or in Poblenou," said Collboni.

Built in the 19th century as a textile manufacturing industry, Can Batlló, with a surface area comparable to that of Camp Nou, was one of the most important industrial strongholds of the time. After its activity ceased in June 2011, the residents of La Bordeta, organized in the Can Batlló Platform, managed to get Block 11 ceded, which is currently a self-managed space. Since then, neighborhood struggles have been ongoing to reclaim different areas of the old factory.