From a hard square colonized by skateboarders to a living space with green and play areas, shadows, benches to rest on or corners to play in, friendlier and more comfortable and, above all, in accordance with the needs of the 21st century. The transformation of Plaça dels Àngels, made public yesterday by Mayor Jaume Collboni, will be a reality between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027, when two projects that have caused major neighborhood battles will culminate (the construction of a new CAP in the old Misericordia chapel and the extension of the Mabca) and which will ultimately lead to the major remodeling of the "heart of the heart of the city", in Collboni's words.
The extension of the Macba in a new building attached to the Ángeles convent was supposed to have materialized in 2023, but the cost overrun of the works (initially it was 11 million euros, but it has gone to 16.2 ) due to the high cost of living resulting from the war in Ukraine, paralyzed the project. This waiting time has not only served to find funding, but also to respond, in principle, to the claims of the neighbors, who saw with reluctance that the center would grow at the expense of a public space (900 square meters) and demanded spaces green in an area that almost triples the city's average population density.
Finally, the solution adopted, with the collaboration and complicity of Meier Partners, the architectural studio of Richard Meier, author of the emblematic building inaugurated in 1995, calls for the removal of the podium attached to the glass facade, currently occupied by skaters, and make it an area to be there. In this way, the square would gain 1,105 square meters of public use, with lots of vegetation and rest areas with benches and deckchairs. In addition, the 349 square meter observation deck that will crown the new building designed by a team of architects formed by the Catalan HArquitectes and the Swiss Christ
The formula "is a virtuous symbiosis between culture, health and green areas", summarized Collboni, "a 21st century square that is less hard, with more green, playable, permeable and usable", which responds to the demands of a city that it must face climate change [in addition to the shade of the trees, it will adopt mechanisms to take advantage of rainwater] and with which both "the residents of the Raval and the users of the culture" will win.
"A city is a space that is never finished", assured, for her part, Maria Buhigas, chief architect of the City Council, who denied that the remodeling of the space is a strategy to expel skaters, whose presence creates insecurity and has been the subject of repeated complaints for the noise nuisance they cause to the neighbours. "It's not a matter of kicking anyone out", he pointed out, but of creating more comfortable and inclusive places, of adapting them to new needs. Because, he argued, "intervening in the facades with new activities changes the conditions of the square from the start". Now it's about giving it a second chance, to create, he added, "more transversal living areas for the elderly, young people and children". In this same sense, the mayor insisted: "We do not want the public use of such an important space to be monopolized".
Also for the director of the Macba, Elvira Dyangani Ose, the expansion of the museum, which will gain 2,110 square meters for new exhibition rooms and the presentation of its collection, will serve to bring the museum closer to the public and strengthen -its public vocation. This, and to make the 6,000 works that are part of its collection "more visible, accessible and permeable" and which cannot currently be exhibited due to lack of space.
The reconfiguration of Plaça dels Àngels will begin in June with the start of work on the CAP Raval Nord at the Misericordia chapel, towards which the Macba was supposed to grow and which it finally gave up after a bitter controversy with the neighbors and CatSalut, in exchange for a public space in the square. The CAP, which will replace the one currently located on Carrer Torres i Amat and Plaça Terenci Moix, will have 2,500 square meters, an investment of 13 million euros, and is scheduled to start operating during the first quarter of 2026.
For its part, the new Macba plans to tender for the works in June so that construction can begin in November. If the deadlines are met, it will open its doors in January 2027. The cost, 16.2 million euros, will be borne equally by the institutions that are part of the consortium, and the Macba Foundation will contribute the amount of 1.5 million.
The project will not only allow it to gain more than 2,000 m2 for exhibitions and activities, but also redefines the physiognomy of the square by equipping it with a third level with an open terrace. The proposal by HArquitectes Christ
