The Besòs Consortium has put out to tender the first urban planning action to be carried out in the architectural ensemble of the three chimneys of Sant Adrià de Besòs, to adapt the space to the celebration of the nomadic festival Manifesta, which has been chosen by the former central thermal as one of the sites for the activities to be held between September and November 2024. The works, basically to improve accessibility and safety, will be used in the future to install the Digital Hub, of the Audiovisual and the Video game, epicenter of the urban transformation of the coast.
The Besòs entity, made up of the councils of Barcelona, Badalona, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Montcada i Reixac, and also by the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya, has tendered the work relating to the partial adaptation project of the turbine ship of the Besòs thermal power station for the Catalunya Media City project for an amount of 1,851,294.44 euros.
The assignment envisages defining and delimiting the spaces available in part of the industrial building to develop sporadic artistic and cultural activities, such as the Manifesta 15 Festival, while respecting the degree of heritage protection as a cultural asset of local interest (BCIL) and proposing the creation of new entrances and exits, some fixed and others temporary.
The Manifesta Festival, also known as the Nomadic Biennial, is a pan-regional European contemporary cultural event that rethinks the relationship between culture and society by investigating a positive social change in Europe, through contemporary culture and dialogue with the social sphere of a specific place, in this case the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Since 1996, the event has been held every two years in a European city. This year Barcelona City Council and ten metropolitan municipalities won the invitation to host the Manifesta Festival in 2024 and chose the old thermal power plant of Besòs as one of the centers of the event.
A report commissioned to the company Cotca SA, in June 2023, after analyzing the structure and enclosures of the plant, considers the state of the building to be acceptable. Currently, all the thermal installations have been dismantled, with the exception of the construction of the protected three chimneys and the turbine room.
The biennial will be held in three areas of Catalonia: the Besòs river, the Llobregat delta and the Collserola mountains. The activities will be present in several metropolitan cities such as Badalona, Cornellà, Granollers, l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Mataró, el Prat, Sabadell, Sant Cugat, Terrassa, Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Besòs.
The adaptation urban planning action will affect a 4,585 m2 space on the Endesa site where public access will be enabled. The works consist of adapting part of the interior space of the turbine ship, where number three was located, and also adapting the accesses and exits with safety guarantees in accordance with the planned activity.
The space will have a perimeter fence that will allow the enclosure to be closed, and the main access will be located on Avinguda Eduard Maristany, so the current wall will have to be knocked down. The emergency exit will be on the part closest to the coast. Access will be carried out through a solidified hall path that will be presided over by new lighting and also by the facades of the nave.
As for the building, which has four levels and a semi-underground floor, the existing stairs and an interior walkway that crosses the loading dock will be used. The electric lift of the old headquarters, which has a capacity for 15 people, will be reactivated. During the adaptation for cultural uses, several open spaces will be covered to achieve the maximum horizontal surface, while several concrete pilasters and brick walls will be demolished. The rest of the holes will be protected with railings. The pavements, badly damaged, will be renewed and new ones will be built over the holes and the walkway.
