Herzog & de Meuron
Competition
2000
Project
2001-2002
Realization
2002-2004

When we started in January 2001 with the design for the building to house the Barcelona Forum 2004, the site was a so-called “terrain vague”, urbanistically speaking a “no-man’s land”, with industrial installations, a residual water treatment plant and a petrol station. While it had some elements of exterior design, such as a sculpture that functioned as a fountain and a small park, there was still a lot of open, vacant land. According to the established schedule, in a period of three years, this entire area was to become part of the architecturally organized and well-defined city. The aim was to convert the chosen zone into the most important and significant district of 21st century Barcelona.

The site is located at the very end of the Avenida Diagonal, where it meets the Mediterranean coast and connects to a newly created gigantic artificial platform, spanning over the Ronda Litoral.

Barcelona is a European metropolis that through its history, climate and the customs of its inhabitants, is predestined to make use of its exterior space, according to its respective configuration, as a living urban location of its social interrelations. For this reason, we decided instead of planning the building as an independent object within an open space, we would propose a building that generates and structures this open space.

To allow for the maximum combination of functions, maximum flexibility and spatial interaction, we also decided that the program, such as the auditorium with 3,200 seats, large exhibition areas, foyer spaces, small administration areas and the restaurant should be organized horizontally.

With these ideas, the elevated flat triangular body emerged almost spontaneously, because it maximizes the possible footprint by forming an extensive cover for the plaza and perfectly expresses the specific situation of the land it occupies between the branches of the right-angled Cerda Grid and the Avenida Diagonal.

The open public space that emerges under the triangular body is thought as a hybrid space, a mixture of several urban typologies. A series of courtyards that cut through the elevated volume as well as the artificial platform establish multiple relations between the street level and the other levels of the building, while always permitting new angles of vision and a changing play of light. The shape of these courtyards derived again from the juxtaposition of the two directions of the grid of Cerda and the cut of the Diagonal.

In order to generate and maintain vitality and interrelation, additional program units are included, such as an open market space with a large fountain, a place for relaxation and meditation around a dripping water courtyard, a small intimate chapel, a bar, a kiosk and other simple facilities that complement the conference and exhibition centre. The buildings satisfy the needs of all social levels: for tourists and also for the citizens of the city, for culture enthusiasts and also for conference attendees, for young people and for older people.

The interiors of the auditorium and the exhibition are designed as hybrid spaces, not only blurring the boundaries between exterior and interior, but which also easily adapt to the constantly changing program. The auditorium is neither a bare conference centre nor a philharmonic music hall; the exhibition area is neither a predictable convention centre nor a classical museum space. The atmosphere of these spaces will change with the program and the building will redefine itself accordingly.

The conception of a building with a coupling of interior and exterior space, as well as the flexibility of the program responds to the need for social durability from the collective point of view. The result is a building that is topography.

Herzog & de Meuron, 2004

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Process

Light and shade of Moorish and Gothic archi­tecture, caves, water and leaves.

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The Forum as anchor: a huge area on the seaward edge of the old town is under development.

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This district where the Avenida Diagonal meets the CerdaĚ€ Plan is to be upgraded. Herzog & de Meuron had already designed a purification plant here in 1989 to form a park with access to the sea.

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Sea view or plaza: sketches and models for a highrise and a lowrise building. The roof of the flat building is pierced by lightwells.

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Models for lightwells, their forms distorted by a dual geometric alignment.

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In this building, the architects have evoked the nearby sea, giving the blue-pigmented facade a coral-like surface texture.

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The chrome cladding on the underside of the ceiling shows passers-by a foamy pattern.

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The surface of the facade and the glazed inserts are tested in a 1:1 mock-up.

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Floor plans with auditorium, plaza and roof; the distance between floor and ceiling varies.

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A load­bearing bridge structure capable of a large span is used for the steel­framed building.

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The Forum is a social hub for congress participants and locals alike.

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Foyers, courtyards, auditorium and atriums that cut into the facade.

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Drawings

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Team

Facts

Client
Ayuntamiento de Barcelona (represented by Infrastructures del Llevant de Barcelona S.A), Barcelona, Spain
Planning
Construction Managment: Herzog & de Meuron SL, Barcelona, Spain
Construction Management (Technical Architect): Ibering, Barcelona, Spain
Structural Engineering: R. Brufau, Barcelona, Spain
Structural Engineering: WGG Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure, Basel, Switzerland
MEP Engineering: : JGA, Joan Gallostra, Barcelona, Spain
MEP Engineering: Waldhauser AG, Basel, Switzerland;
MEP Engineering: Francesc Labastida, Barcelona, Spain
Specialist / Consulting
Acoustic Consulting: Estudi AcĂşstic H. Arau, Barcelona, Spain
Facade Consulting: Biosca & Botey, Barcelona, Spain; Mernie, S.A., Barcelona, Spain
Facade Consulting : Talleres Inox, Barcelona, Spain
Render Facade: Asoes Condal, Barcelona, Spain
Lighting Consulting: Isometrix, London, UK
Stainless Steel Ceiling (Manufacturer & Engineering): Detlef Schobert, Inox Color, WalldĂĽrn, Germany
Stainless Steel Ceiling (Installer): Lummel, Karlstadt, Germany
Construction Details: J.T. Ardèvol & Assoc., Barcelona, Spain
Building Data
Site Area: 172'222 sqft, 16'000 sqm
Gross floor area (GFA): 484'375 sqft, 45'000 sqm
Footprint: 172'222 sqft, 16'000 sqm
Gross volume (GV): 4'944'058 cbft, 140'000 cbm

Bibliography

Gerhard Mack, Herzog & de Meuron: “Herzog & de Meuron 1997-2001. The Complete Works. Volume 4.” Edited by: Gerhard Mack. Basel / Boston / Berlin, Birkhäuser, 2008. Vol. No. 4.

Luis Fernández-Galiano (Ed.): “Arquitectura Viva. Herzog & de Meuron 1978-2007.” 2nd rev. ed. Madrid, Arquitectura Viva, 2007.

Nobuyuki Yoshida (Ed.): “Architecture and Urbanism. Herzog & de Meuron 2002-2006.” Tokyo, A+U Publishing Co., Ltd., 08.2006.

Fernando Márquez Cecilia, Richard Levene (Eds.): “El Croquis. Herzog & de Meuron 2002-2006. Monumento e Intimidad. The Monumental and the Intimate.” Vol. No. 129/130, Madrid, El Croquis, 2006.

Jacques Herzog, Dirk Meyhöfer: “Im Gespräch: Jacques Herzog und Dirk Meyhöfer.” In: Bauverlag BV GmbH (Ed.). “Deutsche Bauzeitschrift. Forum Barcelona.” Vol. No. 9, GĂĽtersloh, Bauverlag BV GmbH, 09.2004. no pages.

Matteo Poli, Mirko Zardini: “Barcelona Forum 2004.” In: Stefano Boeri (Ed.). “Domus. Rivista mensile di Architettura, Design, Arte e Informazione.” Vol. No. 866, Milan, Domus S.p.A., 01.2004. pp. 26-47.

Fernando Márquez Cecilia, Richard Levene (Eds.): “El Croquis. Herzog & de Meuron 1998-2002. La Naturaleza del Artificio. The Nature of Artifice.”
Vol. No. 109/110, Madrid, El Croquis, 2002.

Location