Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The 48h Open House BCN architecture festival is being held this weekend, offering a chance to visit 128 buildings including the Barcelona Municipal Music Conservatory and six public housing developments, three of them brand new and three of them cooperative housing projects.

With nearly 200 activities, the 48h Open House will be opening the doors of unique buildings such as the Barcelona Municipal Music Conservatory at C/ Bruc, 110-112, the work of the architect Antoni de Falguera i Sivilla. Guided tours of the building are being offered without bookings on Saturday, from 10 am to 2pm and from 4 pm to 7 pm.

In a style halfway between modernisme and noucentisme, the building has two cylindrical towers with pointed roofs which were clearly influenced by Puig i Cadaflach, who Falguera collaborated with and was a disciple of. The space inside known as la peixera stands out as the point that the classrooms and corridors are organised around. It consists of an open section of 130 square metres, covered by a skylight in stained glass and offering a multi-purpose space for concerts, presentations and events.

This edition of the festival, organised around Domènech i Montaner Year, includes iconic spaces designed by this architect, explaining his multi-faceted career as a reflection of total art: a body of work which involved ceramicists, mosaic builders, sculptors and craftspeople working in glass and iron.

The programme of activities includes tours guided by volunteers and architects, along with tours using podcasts and itineraries without guides.

Open days at municipal public housing

Six municipal public housing projects are also taking part in the festival. Three of the buildings are blocks by the Municipal Institute for Housing and Renovation (IMHAB), two in La Marina del Prat Vermell and one in Trinitat Nova, while the other three are cohousing projects delegated to the Sostre Cívic cooperative: La Balma, Cirerers and Pincesa 49.