Barcelona Diagonal Mar / Forum 2004 Area
Core idea
Coastal expansion with mixed-use and park
Why it matters
Extended city to the sea with events-led catalyst
Description
The Diagonal Mar and Forum 2004 area development completed Barcelona's long-standing project of extending the Avinguda Diagonal to the Mediterranean, using the Universal Forum of Cultures event of 2004 as its catalyst. Directed by the Ajuntament with multiple design teams, the plan combined a coastal convention and events precinct with the large Diagonal Mar park, new housing and commercial development, marine works and the conversion of infrastructure such as the adjacent treatment plant into usable public space.
Significance
The Forum area extended the event-led planning method Barcelona had made famous with the 1992 Olympics, and its more corporate, large-grained outcome is often contrasted unfavourably with the earlier games-led transformation. It has become a key case in critiques of the 'Barcelona model' in its later phase, raising questions about invented events as development catalysts and the privatisation of the waterfront, even as it completed a structural ambition dating back to the Cerdà era.
What shaped it
- Landscape urbanism (Waldheim) (1997-2006)
- Sustainable development (Brundtland) (1987)
Sources
- https://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/page/450/diagonal-mar-and-forum.html
- https://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2004/01/16/barcelona-forum-2004.html