Josep M. Miró and Eduard Gutiérrez form the firm Nitidus Arquitectes, who have been designated as the designer, conceptualizer, and construction director of the new State Public Library in Barcelona, planned next to the Estación de Francia, in a joint venture with the quantity surveyors' firm Betarq. They have experience in several projects such as the Auditorium and renovation of the Castell de Cap Roig, the Provincial Historical Archive of Castellón de la Plana, or the Palafrugell Theater, among many others.
They speak with impeccable coordination, partners since 2012 and former student and professor: Josep Maria taught Eduard at the La Salle School of Architecture. The enthusiasm they show for their new project is equivalent to the blood, sweat, and tears it has cost to unblock it. Now it only remains for them to answer several questions, such as, for example, why Barcelona should have a provincial library.
--- What is a Provincial Library?
--- Josep M. Miró (JMM): That is to say, the project is paid for by the State, which is its owner, but it cedes the building and its management and maintenance to the Generalitat. Afterwards, voluntarily, this could be co-managed with the Barcelona City Council.
--- Does the Provincial Council, then, not intervene?
--- JMM: In principle, not directly.
--- Can we know why we want a Provincial Library?
-- JMM: Asunta Bailac, who until a few years ago was manager of the Barcelona Libraries Consortium, explains it very well in articles: she refers to negotiations in 1987 with Minister Semprún, ten years later it was decided that this project would go to the Born market and, in 1997, an agreement was formalized to move it forward. But the archaeological remains of the Ribera neighborhood from before 1714 appeared and, in 2004, it was decided to refocus it towards the Estación de Francia. That said: in all large European cities there is a large central library and others for districts or neighborhoods.
--- But why a central one, if the National Library of Catalonia already exists?
--- JMM: Because a central library, whether national or metropolitan, does not have the same functions as the National Library of Catalonia. We must bear in mind that Barcelona is the only province that still did not have a large central library. The idea dates back more than 200 years, inspired by the principles of the Enlightenment, with the Cortes de Cádiz! But there is another reason.
--- Which one?
--- Eduard Gutiérrez (EG): Libraries are not just spaces for reading. This library will unify the Born with the Parliament, we want it to be infected with the spirit of citizen assemblies, for example, we want people to name it.
--- The trend is for names to be given directly by Aena or, in this case, Adif.
--- EG: We believe it will be agreed upon because it is a sensitive point.
--- Therefore, this facility suits us.
--- EG: We are talking about the icing on the cake that has been missing for many decades in Barcelona's library network, and in large European cities, this facility is always there: in Oslo, in Helsinki, in Ghent, in Amsterdam… The latter even has a restaurant on the top floor, which is not something we propose to do, but which we had considered. We do want a space where concerts, presentations, large popular events can be held… We have conceived the architectural project as a citizen space, not just for readers.
--- And why you?
--- JMM: In 2009, a competition was called by the Ministry, which we won in 2010. Before that, there was the search for the most suitable plot, because it could no longer be done in the Born market, and then two more years looking for the most suitable place within that plot. Finally, a kind of "exchange of cards" was made between Adif/Renfe, the Ministry and the City Council, and the result was the specific modification of the PGM that was already approved when the competition was held, therefore, to define the final shape of the plot and its uses.
--- And now what's next?
--- EG: This September, the traditional Correos wing of the Estación de Francia, which is in the middle of this plot, will be demolished. This is what we understood until now as the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
--- Hey! What about the Baluard del Migdia?
--- EG: No need to worry: it will be incorporated into the basement of the building, near the future auditorium. It will remain open, visible and protected from graffiti.
--- Why were they so insistently looking for the Born?
--- EG: The Born neighborhood had always been sought after, but from the Ronda Litoral inwards, meaning, discarding previous ideas like a plot near the corporate building that Gas Natural built. During the competition, the Ciutadella Master Plan was available as project data, which had been drafted but not approved, and which allowed connecting the Salón del Paseo Sant Joan with the sea. After the project submission, we spent ten years in a desert crossing, with a flat encephalogram, sailing without wind. We had no response.
--- Until…
--- Until after the no-confidence motion in the Spanish Parliament, things started to move.
--- That directly?
--- From 2012 to 2018, silence. And from then on, the demolition license for the Correos wing, which had expired, was reactivated.
--- Iceta, then?
--- JMM: His interventions have been impeccable, as have those of the Directorate General for Books and Reading Promotion. The previous minister was also important, and also, and it is important to say, the consistently positive and constructive role of the Department of Culture and its Directorate of Cultural Promotion and Libraries in the project.
--- Let's get back to the topic: why did you win?
--- EG: As they explained to us, we won for many reasons, but we believe that above all because we decided to place the entrance not at the tip on the Marquès de l'Argentera side, but we made it on the side of the Circumval·lació promenade, so that it became an entrance that allowed quite a lot of flexibility as we are seeing with the required adjustments. The shape of the plot is irregular, the widest part of the building will be the sector closest to the sea. Librarians normally ask for the minimum number of floors possible, so we concentrated the main volume with greater height and surface area on the sea side, which is the widest. It is around 16,000 square meters of usable area, 180 meters long and 40-25 variable meters wide. We left, according to the program, the 2,000 square meters of children's area at the Marquès de l'Argentera end, because it is not a thoroughfare, it must be somewhat isolated but internally connected. By placing the entrance in the middle, we enter directly towards the building's center of gravity, and we visually connect the Ciutadella better with the Estación de Francia. At first it was believed that the station would stop functioning when La Sagrera opened, but it seems that the latter will take a long time. In any case, these are multiple strong and timeless decisions that mean they do not depend on short-termism.
--- And what other reasons made you winners?
--- JMM: For the volumetry. The library will grow, as we said, as we get closer to the sea. There are three volumes, increasing in height and width. We made the minimum number of floors possible, which will be six at its highest point. The lowest will be the children's area, in the Marquès de l'Argentera part, so as not to block the perception of the Estación de Francia, that is, so that the buildings do not compete. The upper floors of the central body will be for administration and librarians, but the largest and highest volume is above the access that would correspond to a large porch, which supplies the public space that any public building requires.
--- And regarding sustainability, regulations, etc.? Have they made it very difficult for you?
--- EG: They are very important concepts, but so are austerity and formal discretion in our project. For example, installations must be controlled from the beginning and must be integrated as much as possible. Each volume is autonomous from the point of view of installations, and thus it is easier for them to be included in the building. To be clear: when we look at Google Maps after construction, you shouldn't be ashamed to see how the roof looks.
--- You mean the air conditioners.
--- EG: Above all. Now we must review everything again from a regulatory point of view, and update, for example, photovoltaic panels: thanks to the foresight we made, now we can install them without problem. We have created a structure at the service of flexibility, where space is the protagonist.
--- Mies Van der Rohe.
--- EG: He is always a reference. Open-plan, clean spaces with the structure at the service of the space. Centrifuge the structure, so that everything is sharp and clear. In fact, the facade facing the Estación de Francia will be made of very closely spaced screened pillars, to control the aggressive western sunlight. In the north, on the contrary, they are more separated because the northern light is gentler. It will be like a large display case open to the Ciutadella. In addition, the entire floor of the building is a technical floor, to promote flexibility. This was a project constraint, but we took advantage of it: so the air conditioning also goes through the floor. There are no false ceilings, because over time they become decrepit. And we also added natural night ventilation, in a monitored way. This saves energy.
--- A timeless building.
--- EG: This is what we would like, for it to endure over time. We want a building where it seems that the installations are not there, and yet where comfort is the common denominator. We always keep in mind the example of Mies's National Gallery in Berlin, where the ground floor is at the service of the main upper floor and where it seems that nothing is happening.
----Finally: Barcelona and architecture, today. A brushstroke.
--- JMM: The city still has excellent architecture schools, and excellent, very exportable architects. Just one thing…
--- Let's see.
--- JMM: The excess of regulation. There is a lot of pressure for sustainability, and we understand and share it since always. Good architecture has always been so. But even so, it seems to us that we live in an overly regulated world, with too many controls and processes. One can try to do good architecture with an enormous effort, but it is constantly more concerned with complying with everything that regulations ask for than with being faithful to the idea. Many generational paradises are coming to an end.
--- Generational paradises?
--- JMM: It's a way of speaking. That joy of being an architect when almost everything was focused on the project and with few interlocutors: we haven't fully experienced it, but we have caught a whiff of it. From those wonderful 50s, where the optimistic atmosphere is reflected in the series Mad Men, when everything was possible and positive. The dynamism, without so many filters, and sometimes without being able to have a global vision. The labyrinths of successive interlocutors who don't quite fully command. Before, projects could be defined with reasonable documentation. Now we are too concerned with complying. This seems to be the sign of the times, but it certainly doesn't make projects better.