Barcelona's largest former theater will be converted into a neuroscience laboratory

BarcelonaNo trace remains of the auditorium seating, and only the concrete skeleton of the stands is left, but the space of the former Mundet Homes theater is still impressive. After years of abandonment and highly restricted access, the building, designed by Manuel Baldrich and owned by the Barcelona Provincial Council, opened its doors this Monday to present the project that will transform the space forever: the Barcelona Center for Applied Neurosciences (BCAN), the first research center for neuroscience applied to health in Catalonia. The project, promoted by the University of Barcelona (UB), the Catalan Government, and the Provincial Council, will demolish the theater—which has been out of use since 1994—and transform this corner of the Collserola foothills into a space "of absolute scientific importance" where high-level academic and research activity will take place. The parish priest of the University of Barcelona, ​​recalling his first visit to this theater as a young professor, said it was a "very special" day for the Mundet campus because a solution had finally been found for a space that had been abandoned for decades. The renovation work will cost approximately 12 million euros, half of which will be provided by the Barcelona Provincial Council and the other half by the Catalan Government through European funds. To receive this EU funding, the work—which will begin in July 2027—must be completed before the end of 2028. The new research center is expected to be fully operational between 2029 and 2030. Guardia recalled that, while the space had been abandoned, several proposals had been considered, such as converting the old theater on the Mundet Campus into a large convention, symposium, and congress center, or constructing structures to house scientific research. She also explained that the new project, which aims to make Catalonia an international leader in neuroscience applied to health, stems from the impetus the university received from the frustration of not winning the Neurotech Spain project. The Minister of Universities and Research, Núria Montserrat, also referred to the history of the site, which in the past had also been an orphanage with the theater as its main recreational area. "A space that once provided care will now do so through research," she noted. Like the other speakers before her, the President of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Lluïsa Moret, also celebrated the collaboration between different institutions that made the project possible.

A controversial rehabilitation

During the event, Óscar Blasco also spoke on behalf of Barceló Balanzó Arquitectes and Scob Arquitectura y Paisaje, the firms in charge of the building's renovation. Blasco explained that part of the old theater—mainly the seating area—will become "the central bioclimatic atrium" that will connect the entire research center, linking the laboratories, workspaces, and neuroimaging technical spaces. "It will be like a kind of modern agora that will function as a space for community, exchange, and social interaction," he said, also emphasizing that wood—which currently covers the side walls—will play a prominent role in the renovation.

The renovation of the old Mundet Homes theater has generated controversy Since it became known that its demolition would mean losing its use as a theater, despite the fact that in the past its more than 1,300 seats had made it the largest cinema in the city. However, the paintings by Josep Guinovart, a mosaic by Armand Olivé located in the theater's lobby, and the ceramic tiling of the seating area will be preserved.