Barcelona | Museum | Jordi Badia

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Program: A 58,857-square-foot museum of modern and contemporary Catalan art in Barcelona's 22@ district, a former industrial zone that the city has redeveloped into a service and tech corridor. The project restores two former factory buildings and adds a new wing, which together house exhibition galleries, a teaching workshop, a warehouse, and a garden.

Design Concept and Solution: Working among the high rises of 22@, Jordi Badia's team wanted to create an oasis within the bustling district. They linked the old stone and brick factory buildings with a new wing in exposed concrete, forming a C shape that defines a new courtyard. On the facades of the existing buildings, lime mortar blends the hodgepodge of bricks and stonework together while allowing the buildings' age to show through. A garden planted with trees and ivy envelops the museum—an effect enhanced by the site's natural depression, five feet below street level. Inside, visitors take the elevator to the third floor and work their way down through semilit galleries, which are darkened to preserve the artwork.

Fonte: Architectural Record