When Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games in 1992, they needed an area within the city to build an Olympic Village to house the approximately 10,000 athletes who took part in the games. Barcelona sits between the hills of Collserola on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other. The only area with enough space…
Tag: poblenou
MALIP: Monument to Lost Dreams
The Monument to Lost Dreams (Catalan: El Monument a les Il·lusions Perdudes) is a sleek, abstract sculpture by cartoonist and multidisciplinary artist Toni Batllori. Installed in Poblenou in 2015, the pale granite statue was created as part of a fundraising drive for Clowns Without Frontiers (Payasos Sin Fronteras) a registered charity that sends clowns to…
Barcelona Light Festival 2024 : LLum BCN Poblenou
Barcelona’s Festival of light Llum BCN takes place in February in the Poblenou neighbourhood. When darkness falls, buildings, streets, and plazas are transformed by large-scale projections and audio-visual displays created by local and international artists and students from Barcelona’s art, architecture, and design schools. The festival started out as part of the annual Festes de…
Fer Llenya: Gonzalo Borondo’s Tribute to Castellers
One of the most striking pieces of street art in Barcelona’s Poblenou neighbourhood was painted by Spanish artist Gonzalo Borondo for the 2015 Open Walls Conference. The painting’s title, Fer llenya, is a term used by Castellers (the people who build human towers) and refers to the collapse of a tower. It’s easy to assume…
Discover the Awesome Graffiti and Street Art of Poblenou
Over the last few years Barcelona’s once industrial Poblenou neighbourhood has begun a steady transformation from area full of disused factories to one of hi-tech office blocks, stylish hotels and modern apartment buildings. Many of the abandoned factories have been torn down. Some have been restored and converted into offices. Others stand derelict awaiting redevelopment, trapped in a kind…
The Nature of Art Nouveau Exhibition at DHUB Barcelona
Last year I told you that the hoardings surrounding the unusual Disseny Hub Barcelona had come down and that I looked forward to finding out more when the centre opened. Well it’s taken nearly two years but the DHUB will finally open on the 14th of December 2014. In fact the DHUB has been partially open…
Monument to Doctor Trueta
Josep Trueta Raspall was born in the Poblenou neighbourhood of Barcelona in 1897. He studied medicine at the University of Barcelona and in 1921 started working as an assistant surgeon in the Hospital de la Santa Creus I Sant Pau. By the onset of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 Dr. Trueta had already started…
Mahatma Gandhi Gardens and Statue
Many of Barcelona’s streets, squares and parks are named after famous figures from Spanish history. There are also quite a few international names honoured, including Anne Frank, George Orwell, Winston Churchill, John Lennon and Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi Gardens (Jardins de Gandhi) were inaugurated in 2000 by the then-Mayor of Barcelona Joan Clos. The small park…
Multidisciplinary Art Exhibition at the Agbar Tower
The Agbar Tower isn’t normally open to the general public. So when I heard about the “Agua, Aguas” exhibition I was keen to get a peek inside. The exhibition is a collection of poems, paintings and photos with a common theme – Water. The exhibits are grouped together in 5 categories: Water, the origin of…
Poblenou Cemetery
Poblenou’s Cemetery (Cementiri de Poblenou / Cementiri de l’Este) was built in the mid 18th Century and then rebuilt and extended during the 19th Century. It is divided into 3 sections. The first of which is a labyrinth of 7 story high burial niches typical of Spanish cemeteries. The second section is full of extravagant…
Central Park…..Poblenou!
Poblenou’s very own Central Park; “El Parc del Centre del Poblenou” opened in 2008 and was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. I’d describe the park’s style as “Post Industrial Recovery” which is a reflection of the surrounding area. When the park first opened the trees’ trunks were painted white to represent buildings. As the trees…
Surprising Street Art in Poblenou
Barcelona has lots of street art and public art, ranging from graffiti to large and impressive statues and murals by famous artists. On my way to the beach this morning I noticed this interesting series of modified road signs at the bottom of the Rambla del Poblenou. There are about a dozen of these “modified”…
Torre Glòries – Barcelona’s 21st Century Icon
Designed by Jean Nouvel, the 34 storey Torre Glòries, originally called the Torre Agbar, took 6 years to build and was inaugurated in 2005. Nouvel has stated that he was inspired by Catalan icons such as Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia and the nearby mountain of Montserrat. The tower was built for to the Agbar water company…
