The Hivernacle in Ciutadella Park will be reborn as a kind of Christmas gift to Barcelona in the coming weeks. The reopening of the Barcelona Crystal Palace, one of the buildings built on the grounds of the former military fortress for the Universal Exhibition of 1888, will occur after it has been closed for 13 years and an expensive rehabilitation that began in August of the year past, as Betevé has advanced and municipal sources have confirmed.
The recovery of the Hivernacle, whose definitive uses have yet to be defined – the City Council could announce them shortly after choosing between various neighborhood proposals – will be accompanied by the incorporation of a night surveillance service 365 days a year, from eight in the afternoon to eight in the morning.
In this way, the City Council wants to prevent the Hivernacle from being subject to the vandalism that the Ciutadella park's facilities often suffer. In fact, the custody of this restored building is part of one of the three lots of a contract that is in the bidding phase, valued at 1.5 million euros for two extendable years, for control by sworn security guards of various spaces under the control of the Municipal Institute of Parks and Gardens.
The lot in which the Hivernacle is included also includes the surveillance of its sister building, the Umbracle, which cries out for a similar rehabilitation. The interior and surroundings of the Umbracle, more than the Hivernacle, are used on a fairly stable basis as a shelter for homeless people, a situation that Barcelona City Council wants to avoid with the launch of this surveillance service.
In 2009, the Hivernacle underwent the last partial renovation, a series of urgent actions to consolidate those elements of this protected building – it is listed as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest – that threatened ruin as a result of the deterioration caused by the passage of time. vandalism, lack of maintenance and lack of definition regarding its uses.
A few months ago, the Institut de Parcs i Jardins acquired the “perennial and shrubby plants” that will find shelter under the cover of this glass-enclosed property. The temperature and humidity conditions inside the enclosure force us to resort to tropical and exotic species that are not found in these areas. In an episode of restrictions as a result of the drought, the irrigation of this indoor garden is ensured by the use of groundwater.
The Hivernacle, with an approximate area of 950 square meters, is one of the historic buildings in the park called to play some role in the Ciutadella del Coneixement project, along with the Castell dels Tres Dragons (Museum of Natural Sciences) and the Martorell Museum , which is currently undergoing extensive rehabilitation.
The date of the reopening and presentation to the public of the renovated Hivernacle has not yet been finalized, but everything indicates that it will be between December 18 and 20.
