On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the transfer of the Mercat del Peix, Barcelona's old wholesale fish market, from the building on calle Wellington to Mercabarna - the morning of October 3rd and 4th 1983 - the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and Mercabarna , in collaboration with Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) have today inaugurated the exhibition 'The Old Fish Market. Past and future at Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica metro station.
The exhibition consists of 9 large-format panels that recall the history of the old fish market and its frenetic commercial activity through photographs provided by Mercabarna. It also presents, based on rendered images, the future biomedical research complex that is being built in the space previously occupied by the Mercat del Peix.
The exhibition also visually explains the research in biomedicine, biodiversity and planetary well-being that the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF) and the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), will develop , respectively, in the new complex, called to be one of the leaders in this area in all of Europe.
The event included the interventions of the rector of the UPF, Laia de Nadal; the president of Mercabarna and deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council, Jordi Valls; and the CEO of TMB, Gerardo Lertxundi. Next, the authorities visited the exhibition commented by Francesc Subirada, director of the UPF initiative for the Ciutadella del Coneixement.
The old Mercat del Peix, located on Wellington Street, was the first permanent wholesale fish market in Barcelona. It was inaugurated in 1931, remodeled and expanded in 1953 and was active until 1983, when, with the transfer of the market to the new Mercabarna facilities, in the Free Trade Zone, it fell into disuse.
After being used for a time as a municipal vehicle deposit, in 1996 it was converted into a public parking lot that served, among others, visitors to the Barcelona Zoo.
The new scientific complex of the Old Fish Market is being built on this site. Promoted by the Pompeu Fabra University, the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF), it will consist of 45,000 square meters that will host 1,400 researchers focused on research and innovation in precision medicine, biodiversity and planetary well-being.
The work, of which the construction of the foundations of the buildings and the parking that will be managed by BSM is now being carried out, is expected to be completed in 2026, and will become a prominent piece of the biomedical hub existing on the seafront of the city.
The exhibition on the past and future of the Fish Market can be seen from October 6 to 31 at the Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica metro station on line 4.
