Punching holes in Ciutat Vella; adaptive urban form in Barcelona

An adaptive city reforms from within

Wandering around Barcelona over Christmas, 2005, I was much taken with La Ribera and El Born districts, which comprise a major part of the Old Town, or Ciutat Vella. With a history extending over a millennium, this is essentially the heart of the city. Or the stomach perhaps. Either way, there can be few examples of the medieval European city in such fully working order, still brimming with people, noise, smells, trade of all kinds. In fact, it makes no sense to describe it as ‘medieval’ at all, given the ease with which it also sits within the 21st century. It’s capable of flexing form and fabric to accept change apparently effortlessly, providing a showcase for contemporary architecture dated 1328, 1500, 1870, 1908 or 2005.

The density in Ciutat Vella is such that you almost feel contained within some kind of stone organism. You emerge into the neighbouring Eixample almost gasping for air, blinking in the light, breathing in the wide open 19th century boulevards. And yet, back towards the Mediterranean, we’ll see that history suggests this tightly wound, virtually solid city space is almost as effective and adaptable as Cerdá’s Eixample plan. The form of El Born is such that modular design solutions can be enabled by simply punching holes in blocks…