Barcelona is described as a vast open-air gallery for architecture enthusiasts, presenting constructions that encompass Roman, Gothic, and modernist styles, mixing cultures and eras.
Besides Gaudí
Although the Sagrada Familia Basilica is the city's main icon and a masterpiece by Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona's architecture offers other equally impressive buildings that deserve visitors' attention.
Richard Meier's MACBA
Located in Plaça dels Àngels, in the Raval district, near Las Ramblas, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) was designed by American architect Richard Meier and inaugurated in 1995. The building's design adopts the rationalist style, alluding to Le Corbusier, and harmonizes straight lines with curves, allowing external light to flood the interior spaces.
A focal point of MACBA is its cylindrical atrium, which runs through four floors and guides visitors in a circular path around the museum, contrasting with the linear geometry of the exhibition rooms. The presence of skylights and open galleries ensures the entry of natural light. In addition to Meier's architecture, the collection includes works by artists such as Antoni Tàpies, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Esther Ferrer. Entrance fees are 15 euros at the ticket office or 13.50 euros with advance online purchase, with hours varying by season, according to the MACBA website.
Ricardo Bofill's Walden 7
Walden 7 is a utopian project created by architect Ricardo Bofill, focused on providing a high quality of life to residents, and was built in 1975 on the remains of an old cement factory, on the same site as another of his works, La Fábrica. Its initial appearance attracts attention due to its asymmetrical facade and rounded balconies reminiscent of a fortification, all painted red. The large openings serve as windows to the city.
This building has 14 floors organized around seven internal blue-painted courtyards, totaling 31,000 square meters with eighteen towers and a modular layout. Corridors and balconies with dark blue railings intertwine on various levels, and the colors become even more vibrant under the sunlight. Located in Sant Just Desvern, west of Barcelona, it houses almost a thousand inhabitants. Visits to Walden 7 are restricted to residents, upon request via email to visites@walden7.com, or can be made through guided tours by Barcelona Architecture Walks, with the 'Barcelona & Bofill' route. There is also the possibility of staying in a duplex apartment in the building, available on Airbnb.
Gabriel García Márquez Library
In the Sant Martí neighborhood, opposite Plaça Carmen Balcells Segalà, is the Gabriel García Márquez Library, a project developed by Studio SUMA Arquitectura. This project has received important recognitions, including the City of Barcelona award, the FAD Architecture award (Fomento de artes e desenho), and the title of Best Public Library in the World.
Structurally, the project is conceived as a cube with cutouts forming chamfers. The distinctive aspect of this building, inaugurated in 2022, is these triangular cuts, which symbolize a stack of books. The entrance is called the 'vitrine agora', serving as a link between the library's interior and the external urban environment. Lowered gardens and courtyards have been incorporated, acting as a filter between the building and the surrounding neighborhood. An important focus of the project is sustainability: it is built with steel and wood from certified forests, using climate control methods, establishing it as a model of low environmental footprint and future library. Visiting is free.
