An example of a dividing wall already transformed with openings in the facade and greenery. Photo: Marcela Grassi
Barcelona is taking a step forward to improve the quality of public space through the World Capital of Architecture that the city will hold in 2026. As part of the Architecture Weeks, taking place in the city from May to June, Barcelona launched a new international ideas competition for young architects to transform 10 permanent dividing walls, one in each district, and turn them into new facades. This call, organized by the Barcelona City Council and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, is seeking architectural proposals that give meaning to walls that are currently anonymous and without any prominence, exposed in public space in a permanent provisional state.
The World Capital of Architecture will have a strong presence in the city in 2026 –the year in which Barcelona will also host the UIA World Congress of Architecture– but its mark and impact will go beyond this year. In this sense, it is proposed that the legacy it leaves in the city will be through two paths, one of which will be this competition, and the other, a large-scale model of the city linked to a space for reflection and dissemination of architecture.
DIVIDING WALLS IN THE CITY OF BARCELONA
Barcelona City Council, through the Municipal Institute of Urban Landscape and Quality of Life (IMPU), has counted some 6,000 dividing walls with a strong presence in the city's public spaces. These are anonymous walls, dividing properties and with no prominence in the exterior appearance of the building, which also generate thermal and construction deficiencies in homes, since they are not walls designed to be exterior facades. And today, of the total number of dividing walls in the city, 348 are permanent and have a surface area of more than 100 square meters. They are dividing walls of buildings that will not disappear since, according to current planning, they will not be covered by other buildings and at the same time confront public spaces, with the visual impact that this entails.
25 years ago, the City Council created the Plan for the remodeling of party walls in the city of Barcelona, which aims to improve and enhance the places where it is implemented. In addition, grants are launched every year for the improvement of these sites and resources from advertising banners are also allocated. Now, with the competition of ideas launched by the Barcelona City Council and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, the aim is to reflect on this type of party walls in order to renovate them and improve the living conditions of the homes.
Ten permanent party walls have been selected for the competition, one for each district, based on a territorial distribution criterion and looking for those party walls with the greatest landscape impact, always in accordance with the properties of the buildings in question. The proposals submitted will be evaluated according to the following objectives:
- Urban quality, that is, the ability to generate new facades for the transformation and improvement of the urban landscape, and the reactivation of the ground floors with new openings of the premises and neighbor accesses, solving corners or spaces susceptible to bad use.
- Habitability, with the opening of new windows and balconies that improve the quality of life of residents.
- Sustainability, with the incorporation of thermal insulation to increase comfort and improve the energy performance of buildings, or also the installation of photovoltaic capture or other strategies for generating clean energy.
- Biodiversity, with the increase in vertical greenery and the creation of new habitats for protected fauna.
The 10 selected locations are as follows:
COMPETITION OPERATION AND SCHEDULE
The competition will be of an international nature, endorsed by the International Union of Architects (UIA) and following UNESCO criteria, and developed jointly with the IMPU. The competition is aimed at young architects, so one of the requirements will be that the proposals be submitted by architects with a degree in any country in the world and under 35 years of age.
The period for submitting ideas is from 10 June to 5 August. The jury, made up of architects and architecture and urban planning professionals from around the world, will select a winning proposal and a second and third prize for each of the sites. In total, the competition has a prize fund of 52.500 €.
The winners will be announced on 25 September. They will participate as consultants in all phases of the architectural design of the dividing walls through a collaborative process with the IMPU and local teams of architects. The aim is for the dividing walls to be inaugurated in 2026 as part of the programme of activities for the World Capital of Architecture.
The budget for the implementation of the 10 selected proposals will be approximately 4.5 million euros and will be covered by the City Council, except for the new openings, windows and balconies, since as private property they will be covered 50% by the owners of each home.
***
Press release courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe - Press office
comment