Escapism Barcelona 1

Possibly the biggest attraction of the Paça Sant Felip Neri is the challenge to actually find it. As an urban space that seems to operate outside the physical laws of reality, Plaça Sant Felip Neri is imbued with a calmness and isolation, providing the environment with a unique identity that differs from the busy surroundings of the Barrio Gotico.

The compositional elements and materials that make up the space strongly identify its character. Tree canopies filter light throughout the square, while the juxtaposition of small countless shadows creates a refreshing and soothing effect, uniformly providing an experience of differentiating space.

Moreover, the continuity between pavement and the structure’s facade evokes the sense of recollection, giving the visitor the idea of being content in an urban valley, one that occurs naturally rather than by construction.

Culture Barcelona 1

The Plaza de Santa Just, can be related to the Plaça Sant Felip Neri on urban space with a special uniqueness.

His strong character has been brought about primarily by the relative difficulty to access it from the usual tourist circuit. Its isolation has helped preserve the essence of the original urban space that although it has been fitted with new uses of leisure, has remained not only the elements that define the square physically but also the original way of life.

It is one of the few public spaces of the Gothic quarter in which they can live a real exchange with the native population of Barcelona.

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At the end of Carrer Nou de la Rambla, at the time that the pending promotion to the Montjuic begins to be significant, is the Refugi 307.

It´s a shelter designed to protect the civilian population of air strikes that were common in the city during the Spanish civil war. The attacks came not from heaven but of the troops of Mussolini, for example, came to bombard the city from the sea.

The manpower that the shelter was built especially for women and children as most of the men were fighting. However the route and resource protection necessarily the tunnel were carried out by a neighbour in the area that got documentation on this type of buildings or had some kind of engineering knowledge about war.

The condition of the shelter is exceptional at the same time that the statement made to preserve them has been a special sensitivity. That is why the sensations that experiments on the inside leave the visitor a clear idea of the tragedy lived during this war.

Escapism Barcelona 1

Behind the Umbracle and in front of the Martorell Museum of Geology stands this greenhouse, designed by Josep Amargós in 1884.

The structure is an excellent example of the iron and glass based architecture from the same period that saw the construction of the Eiffel Tower. Beneath the greenhouse’s overhang rests an equally impressive item from a more recent period—a fountain designed by the sculptor Xavier Corberó in 1985. An excerpt from the poem La muntanya (the mountain) by Joan Maragall is engraved on the fountain’s base.

The Hivernacle was originally built for the 1888 Universal Exhibition (World’s Fair). Nowadays it houses a pleasant coffee shop and a great space for concerts and exhibitions.

Escapism Barcelona 1

The Laberint d’Horta is a classic garden ordered by French and Italian compositional elements. The garden is arranged by a series of French inspired labyrinths and parterres situated among an area of massive trees; but also follows the typical structure of an Italian Baroque garden, with its levels or terraces organized in such a way as to most organically adapt to the surrounding natural topography.

Thanks to the use of these traditional resources, Laberint d’Horta offers visitors amazing spacial sensations. The experience provided by the garden’s intricate network of mazes—dating back to past modes of entertainment—is perfect for the mild Mediterranean climate which allows for so much outdoor leisure. The garden’s high hedges invite us to be like Dédalo and Ariane under the protection of fortified fauna.

Ascend to the top terrace and see the secret of the labyrinth, revealed by a complete view of its layout.

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There are two terms that serve well to characterize the Catalan spirit: Seny—something like common sense, good judgement, rationality; and then Rauxa—impulsiveness, or an outbreak of arbitrary aesthetics.

The Mural de les Olles internalizes and then projects these opposing notions, supplying a well ordered arrangement of bizarre plastic hatchings. In effect, the display offers passersby a surreal dreamscape of strange imagery, perfect to contemplate during siesta or to let pervade your imagination as you go about daily business.

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During the Modern Age, Catalonia experienced an incipient economic growth based on trade in the Mediterranean. This development was made possible through the refinement of shipbuilding techniques, which led a restless mercantile middle class into work. Accompanying this economic and social phenomenon, an architectural style was developed, known as ‘Gothic Mediterranean’ an almost exclusively European event.

This architectural development kept the structural characteristics of Gothic Orthodoxy, but introduced new novelties, especially at the functional level. What was truly novel was the fact that by reusing traditional spaces, Gothic spirituality was essentially generated and given over to civilian use (primarily in the fishing and commercial sectors), strengthened by language and the systematic construction of Gothic buildings. This single shipyard stands as a great example for the structural analysis of Gothic architecture; its massive space fully adequate to accommodate fishing boats and a great amount of work within.

Escapism Barcelona 1

The Plaza of the Duc de Medinacelli is one of the examples of urban approximation of the city to the sea. In this aspect, Barcelona has always been primarily commercial links with the sea leaving the definition of the limits of contact with the coast in the hands of port facilities and industrial applications. Therefore it can be seen as the urban empties into the coast without too much continuity solutions or unique natural opening efforts towards the Mediterranean. That is why this square one of the few instances where the city trying to solve through its public waterfront space.

Thus, the urban Barcelona has lived normally backs entering the sea in contrast to other areas of the city such as the neighborhood of Barceloneta in which life in intimate relationship with the sea has been a key feature in its layout and lifestyle.