During my studies at the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona, Barceloneta often came up as a subject of interest and discussion. The beachside restaurants once built directly on the sand, now gone, its narrow streets, small apartments, laundry hanging from balconies, local shops, artisan workshops, and above all, its people, who spoke and still speak fast and loud.
This project offered a chance to return to the neighborhood from a different point of view. It was no longer a leisurely or exploratory visit, but a more intentional study of the place, with the aim of identifying what could allow us to reveal its character and describe it with precision. Ultimately, the goal was to convey a specific reality and give architectural work a broader and more meaningful role beyond simply fulfilling a program.
During the competition phase, we created a collage using some of César Manrique’s fantastic fish along with children’s drawings. We hoped these would express the joy, vitality, energy, and enthusiasm of the people of Barceloneta, and help guide the evolution of the project.
The market has always played a central role in the social life of the neighborhood. It has been a reference point, sometimes almost hidden, visible mainly to those who live there. This unique relationship between the market and the city had to be reflected in the project. The building and its immediate surroundings needed to become a true social landmark in this part of Barcelona.
It is striking to look back at the photographs taken during the construction process, when the components, the bones of this large animal, were transported through the streets to their final location. Today, this creature is held within an urban grid of military origin, with no possibility of escape. I like to imagine the memory of these streets through which each structural element passed. Every resident witnessed at least one of these fragments being moved, becoming part of the collective memory of the market’s construction.
Even now, it is remarkable to recall that process. We shared it with the neighbors in parts, small glimpses of a larger reality.
Now completed, the building twists within its constrained space. There is a certain intensity in its new form, caught between the memory of what it once was and the ambition of what it hopes to become. It unfolds and folds in on itself, offering a sequence of new spaces waiting to be discovered.
