The old Poble-sec Fire Station is the only historical station still intact in Barcelona. It was built for the Universal Expo of 1929 and was the first of its kind: the first station designed to meet all the requirements pertaining to its use and adapted to the service's new needs.
New museum space on Montjuïc mountain
Work on adapting the building, which began in November 2014, received investment of €3.2 million, of which 2.4 million were allocated to renovation work and refurbishment and €800,000 to the museum project.
The old Fire Station had two floors and was built using the techniques of the time: a vertical structure of solid brick walls and a horizontal metal structure. The project involved the comprehensive renovation and revaluation of the most characteristic elements of the station, the tool yard and the practice tower, as well as the construction of a new metal structured interior of four floors.
The works carried out sought to achieve maximum transparency throughout the various exhibition spaces, with glass being the material of choice where possible with new openings in the interior walls. This has resulted in the whole building becoming integrated as part of a continuous tour route, which is, for the first time since it was built, accessible for public use. The surface area of the renovated building is 1,433 square meters.
The oldest Fire Station in the country
The old Poble-sec Fire Station, on top of which the Prevention Park was built, was designed by the architect Emilio Gutiérrez, and was built for the International Expo of 1929. It was built for the Universal Expo of 1929 and was the first of its kind: the first station designed to meet all the requirements pertaining to its use and adapted to the service's new needs. It is the oldest Fire Station in Spain and the only historical station still intact in Barcelona.
The facilities stopped being used as a fire station in the year 2000 and had been left empty. In 2003, they were used as the venue for the World Police and Fire Games. Subsequently, in 2005, the building was provisionally handed over to the Spanish National Police Force to be used for offices until 2013, when Barcelona City Council took it back in order to turn it into the Prevention Park.
Espai Bombers - Prevention Park, winner of the 2017 Catalunya Construcció Awards
The building received the ex aequo award for projects on existing buildings. The jury of the 14th edition gave the prize at the awards ceremony, as part of the "Nit de la construcció" organised by the College of Surveyors of Barcelona.
The study Roldán + Berengué, whose team was made up by Miquel Roldán, Mercè Berengué and Enric Peña, focused their idea on the comprehensive renovation, preservation and refurbishment of the most important elements of the old fire station on Carrer de Lleida. The jury had high praise for the work as it managed to offer a new use and lease of life, with results that are not as simple as appearances would have you believe. The space shows greater breadth and transparency, as the exhibition areas are separate from those intended for offices and other services. This transparency is enhanced by the glass façade that is used to showcase museum contents. In addition to preserving the building’s historic character, it also includes the four poles the fire fighters used to slide down.
