Travel with us to the origins of modern Barcelona!
Today we want to talk about our Barcelona & Urbanism walking tour, a trip to the origins of the guidelines laid out by Ildefons Cerdà on the plain of Barcelona. He was responsible for designing a 133m x 133m grid without borders, hierarchies or suburbs that has given Barcelona the status of an advanced city.
In the summer of 1859, a cramped, almost medieval Barcelona embarked on the journey of its expansion plan with the central government’s stamp of approval. The history of the project was marked by two historical events: the first involved the personal achievement of designer Ildefons Cerdà, who went beyond the specific reality of the time and created the General Theory of Urbanization; the second involved the city of Barcelona’s resistance to the plan and the plot to discredit the progressive-minded engineer.
The tour will leave the Plaça Universitat and gradually dive into Cerdà’s grid while we travel in time from the birth of cities to 21st-century Barcelona, through the modern era, the birth of the railway, the Barcelona model and the 22@ district. We will see the Sant Antoni Market in renovation, the Sant Antoni Library signed by RCR architects pritzker price winners 2017 and we will finish our expedition on the roof of Richard Rogers’ Las Arenes Mall Center, where we will reveal and analyze Barcelona’s future projects.
As we wander through courtyards, avenues and squares to feel the pulse of local Barcelona, we’ll talk about communication and the Internet, ways and byways, enlightened despotism, 22@ and the infinite architectural richness of Cerdà’s Barcelona.
Come and meet Ildefons Cerdà, the inventor of the science of urbanism.
We offer Regular Tours every Wednesday starting at 4:00pm. Booking in advance is required to attend to these Walks.
