Programa d’oficina i apartaments aixecat sobre una estructura preexistent, hereva del Pla Mercadal (1962, rev. 1974). L’acció municipal revisà intensitats a partir del 1980 i negocià situacions de facto. Aquí, tot desconstruint allò existent, es busca una certa asèpsia compositiva, una llei en què horitzontalitat, repetició i textura siguin prou llenguatge. L’àtic es tracta a manera de capsa de vidre, en un intent dubtós de mescla amb el cel que és, alhora, un èxit d’abstracció i neutralitat. Vist el patètic final de la fallida operació Pirineus (davant per davant), algun projecte ha maldat, finalment, per qualificar la plaça.

The building is located at one end of the Bellvitge industrial estate, next to Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes. The position it occupies favours its role as a driving force of the urban renewal of the area and, being located perpendicular to the highway, it avoids being a visual obstacle for the homes of Bellvitge and creates a new urban façade on the promenade that it itself generates. This fact implies the removal of a historical scar, by the disappearance of the condition of the motorway as the physical border of the territory. The program is distributed between the tall building, which houses the hotel, and a long plinth that houses the Congress Centre and the Sports Club. The union between these two bodies takes place through a glazed atrium spanning six floors. The tower clearly separates all the structural and communication elements from the functional spaces, to keep the spaces dedicated to the rooms open.

Barcelona has always been known for having a special sensitivity and respect towards its past, but at the same time for its forceful commitment to the future and the avant-garde. Las Arenas is a clear example of this, and it reveals the confluence of both concepts: historicist architectural respect and technological commitment. The old bullring, in disuse since 1989, had become a symbol after more than a century; not so much for its architectural value as for being part of the city’s landscape. Hence, the architectural project was oriented towards its maintenance, like a second exterior skin of the new building. However, such preservation entailed great technical complexity: firstly, due to its evident physical deterioration; and secondly, due to its strange level, which is 4m high above the perimeter streets. The technical effort was aimed at presenting the cylindrical, forceful and atypical shape. The solution to create a new façade under the existing façade consisted of creating a large perimeter pathway of exposed reinforced concrete to which the upper weight is transmitted. Also temporarily, the entire façade rested on a circular metal crown. Once restored, it would become a kind of double skin exempt from direct contact with the new building. A circular metal walkway would fulfill a triple function: cable stay, fire evacuation corridor and services, facilities and supply of goods. The building has a huge central void which works as a reception hall for all the activities of the complex - commercial, recreational and leisure - from which to observe the life and effervescence of movement of the complex. The roof of the building was another of the great challenges of technical and structural resolution, since it was separated from the rest of the building to emphasise its sense of buoyancy. We stand before one of the largest domes in Europe, with a multitude of uses and possibilities, as well as a perimeter promenade from which to enjoy the magnificent view of Barcelona, at a height of 27m and with a length of more than 300 linear metres. A special vaulted space in the context of a city that has always lacked them, and that highlights the uniqueness of the project - always in line with the identity of Barcelona. It is also a project developed in partnership with Richard Rogers, contributing and complementing points of view to go beyond the initially set objectives.