Un momento por favor

Historic center of Òdena

Proyecto
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Publications

2021
The Ideal City Ed. Gestalten
2020
Archello
2020
b-guided
2020
Diseño de la Ciudad
2020
Metalocus
2020
Plataforma Arquitectura
2020
Scape magazine
2020
Stein Magazine
2020
Topos
2020
Urban Next
2020
WorldArchitecture.org
2020
WorldLandscapeArchitect.com

Awards

2020

Selected. Dezeen Awards,

2010

Winner. Competition for the urbanization of the old town of Òdena,

Client:

Ayuntamiento de Òdena

Location:

Òdena. Barcelona. Spain

Year:

2017-19

Surface:

5.100 m2

Photograph:

Adrià Goula

Awards
Neutrality as a stage for urban life

Before its remodeling, Òdena’s Plaça Major was not actually a square but rather a space where the six streets that form the backbone of the city’s old town intersected and converged. Despite this configuration, the site was potentially a space of new centrality for the municipality.

To reverse the image of a traffic knot, the project lays out a mantle of uniform stone paving where people are given priority. The result is an essentially empty public space—balanced, simple, and efficient—built with the fewest possible materials, and prepared to become the stage on which the citizens’ lives unfold.

    A new space of centrality
    for the municipality

    The project has sought to establish a close relationship of empathy, not only with the people who will use it but also with the history of the municipality and the origins of its settlement, linked to the geological importance of gypsum. In the cracks created in the new topography, this mineral emerges symbolically in the form of a large urban sculpture, which lends character and personality to this urban space.

    The result of this major transformation of Òdena’s town center has been a new, busy, and much-appreciated central space, not only for its inhabitants but also for all those visiting the numerous social events held here every year.