Resumen de Barcelona: Small-Scale Public Spaces
Small scale public spaces form an essential part of Barcelona’s urban development. During the beginning of the democratic era, Oriol Bohigas began the reconstruction of the city by creating small scale public spaces of quality with the purpose of “higienizar el centro y monumentalizar la periferia”. They were applied in all the districts of Barcelona, with the intent of compensating for the loss of open spaces and segregation caused during the dictatorship. Thus, the city gained a series of small public spaces that recovered its urban fabric and provided a better quality of life and coexistence.
The means of creating these small scale public spaces is through the ‘esponjamiento’ of the urban fabric, that involved a selective destruction of specific deteriorated sites and the redevelopment of residual spaces.
The study of the historic framework of these operations in Barcelona demonstrates that the creation of small public spaces through ‘esponjamiento’ is attributed to the GATCPAC’s sanitation plan for the old town, and the interventions of Adolf Florensa in the city.
This method originated from the concerns of urban hygiene in the 19th century. European industrial cities were suffering from epidemics, overpopulation and insalubrity, and the first measures of urban hygiene were through the ‘eventrement’ of the city, opening it up with large straight axes that crossed though its urban fabric eliminating everything in their path.
In Barcelona, the first initiative was by tearing down its walls and expanding into the Plain. Ildefons Cerdà drafted his expansion plan focusing a great deal on hygiene and ventilation and provided the blocks in his grid with small scale interior courtyards.
As for the old town, early measures were taken through the ‘eventrement’ of the old fabric initially proposed by Cerdà and later redeveloped by Àngel Baixeras. Thus, began the opening of the Via Laietana that resulted in the loss of large amounts of historic and monumental buildings.
From that moment, the creation of small scale public spaces through ‘esponjamiento’ was born as an alternative solution to large scale demolitions and expropriations. And thanks to this procedure Barcelona gained a network of small scale public spaces that still play an important role in our present day.
Keywords: Public space, urban design, small scale, squares, gardens, selective destruction
