Garcés de Seta Bonet and MARVEL Architects' proposal won the competition to adapt and expand the Tres Xemeneies/Three Chimneys, a former power plant set to become the Catalunya Media City hub in Barcelona, Spain. With their winning design, the two studios sought to preserve the site's historical legacy while creating a space that can evolve and shape future possibilities. Scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025 and expected to be completed by 2027/2028, the project is planning to offer a range of features and services designed to foster innovation, creativity, technology, training, and digital culture exhibitions.
The proposed design incorporates open spaces intended for leisure, interaction, and social gatherings. It aims to serve as a metropolitan landmark and a central feature of the Besòs area, providing public activities and enhancing accessibility. The north façade of the warehouse will be modified to include a balcony that offers views of the Badalona coastline, while the new rooftop will function as a vantage point, creating a visual connection between Barcelona, Sant Adrià de Besòs, and Badalona.
The Tres Xemeneies will serve as the cornerstone of the new Catalunya Media City, providing a dedicated space for the development, production, and experimentation of digital arts and technology. The center will feature a 250-seat auditorium, an immersive room, a studio or set, two smaller studios, a laboratory, two recording studios, a mixing room, a color grading room, an editing suite, and versatile open spaces. Additionally, it will house two UX laboratories, a workshop, a fabrication lab, a large library, and meeting rooms.
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Transforming Industrial Heritage: Design Strategies for Creating a New Atmosphere in Cultural SpacesTransforming an infrastructure that has had a heavy environmental impact in the past into one that drives the future of media collaboration while utilizing the existing structure's weight to lighten the new program's energy footprint, seems to us, like a worthy goal for the future of architecture. - Jonathan Marvel, founding principal of MARVEL
The project also envisions an energy-efficient building that generates substantial renewable energy through photovoltaic panels, offsetting much of its energy consumption for climate control and lighting. This approach aims to enhance the building's overall sustainability. The environmental goal of the intervention is to minimize its ecological footprint throughout its entire lifespan. The design incorporates passive architectural principles and employs bioclimatic strategies to reduce energy demand.
Other similar industrial transformation projects include Garcés de Seta Bonet's office and loft complex at Passatge Mas de Roda, which involves the rehabilitation of an old factory, and the Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, a former power plant now reimagined as a creative hub for artists, fabricators, and other workers, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and PBDW Architects.
