Barcelona city in 2050 and role of architecture in the future
The architecture of the future must master a wide range of challenges. It must react to climatic, social and functional influences and in some cases anticipate them. There will not be one single role for architecture in this process; it is more important to understand the above-mentioned topics as cross-cutting issues that should be taken into account in every architecture and urban planning project and coordinated with the conditions of a planning area and local climatic and social influences.

For Barcelona, this means that the sustainability, social and functional goals of a planning project should always be fed back to the existing qualities of a grown European city and that it should be carefully weighed up which interventions in the existing structures are sensible and feasible.

Barcelona will still be Barcelona in 2050, most of the Cerda blocks will still be there, but perhaps with other uses and other residents in the existing block structures. These should therefore be adapted in such a way that they can master the future challenges mentioned at the beginning, enable the residents to live a healthy life and continue to be an integrated part of Barcelona.

Concept behind the design
The concept is based on the GREEN GRID, a public open space, which creates a spacious passage in the planning area and defines points of contact with the surroundings. The GREEN GRID forms a balance to the built-up area, incorporates a variety of different social, urban climate and mobility functions and in this way the backbone of the concept is formed.

The newly organized block structures are oriented towards the GREEN GRID, so that a coordinated whole is created from the formative public space (GREEN GRID) and the continuous blocks.

The design features adopted that resonates to the essence of the city
The basis of our concept is the acceptance and appreciation of the existing block system as well as the assumption that the new system must function in accordance with the existing system.

Therefore the GREEN GRID is structured in such a way that it defines connection points to all four sides of the nine blocks with the existing grid in Cerda. In this way, the redesigned nine blocks are interwoven with the existing system and there is the possibility to continue the GREEN GRID via Cerda. As a result, there are no spatial breaks at the connection points between the new building and the existing building, and the spatial sequences and directions of passage typical for Cerda remain intact. The new block structure is therefore based on the Cerda block and optimizes it with regard to its weaknesses (e.g. lighting, passage and accessibility of the buildings).