Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The exhibition centre is the second facility to open as part of this future science and research hub after the Hivernacle plant house reopened in December. The centre is the new home for the city’s natural science museum, reaffirming the scientific side of the Parc de la Ciutadella and bringing science closer to the public.

Another step in consolidating the Ciutadella del Coneixement knowledge hub

The reopening of the exhibition centre helps strengthen the scientific side of the park, helping to turn it into a space for knowledge, dissemination and research which is open to the public. The building forms part of a series of facilities with significant science and heritage values for the project, which includes the renovation of the Hivernacle (already completed), the Castell dels Tres Dragons and the Umbracle. Through the connection with Passeig de Picasso, the site becomes closer to the cultural corridor of El Born CCM, Santa Maria del Mar and the Museu Picasso.

Visitors to the centre can see science exhibitions with a strong social impact linked to the climate crisis and biodiversity. There are currently two temporary exhibitions: “Nature or Culture? A Vision of Natural Science Museums”, and “Wow. Museum Animals: Science, Technique and Art”.

A building with a history

The Centre Martorell d’Exposicions was the first building to be constructed as a public museum in Barcelona and Catalonia. It opened as the Museu Martorell in 1882, thanks the legacy of the antique dealer and naturalist Francesc Martorell i Peña, who left his collections to the city when he deid, along with funds to build the museum. In 1924 the centre became the Museu de Geologia as its zoological and botanical collections were moved to the neighbourhood Castell del Tres Dragons at that point.

The building closed its doors in 2010 and has now reopened following an extensive renovation process, enabling it to include two exhibition spaces and a multi-purpose room. With a budget of 6.2 million euros, the goal was to preserve the original building as far as possible. The inside has been renovated and work carried out to make the building accessible on the side in the Parc de la Ciutadella and open up an entrance on the side in Passeig de Picasso. Work is now in progress to draft the project to repair and renovate the façades, which will not disrupt the daily activity of the centre.