"Barcelona is a city with open doors. Doors that also connect the real world and the magical world that Gaudí imagined," this is how Noelia Collado, content director of La Roca Village, began to explain the new artistic project A Door in Barcelona. This 2026, the Catalan capital is experiencing a unique cultural moment: the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death coincides with the completion of the Tower of Jesus Christ of the Sagrada Familia and the recognition of Barcelona as World Capital of Architecture by UNESCO. In this context, La Roca Village wanted to join the celebration by transforming its boulevards into an artistic space.
"This year is very special for Barcelona and we wanted to celebrate it," highlighted Cristina Viollaz, business director of La Roca Village, during the presentation of the project. This initiative brings together three creators with radically different (and complementary) perspectives on public space, volumes, and intimacy: the floral art of Flowers by Bornay, the photography of Jordi Bernadó, and the painting of Albert Madaula.
From the facade to intimacy
"The challenge was not simple," acknowledged Noelia Collado. The organization asked uncomfortable but necessary questions: What does architecture really mean? What would Gaudí be today? A simple trencadís? "Surely he would say no, because he was a groundbreaking artist," Collado pointed out. The intention of the proposal is to consider whether architecture is just the facade or if it is what happens inside. Based on this premise, the proposal invites visitors to interact with art one-on-one, demystifying the idea of culture as an untouchable museum object.
Flower doors designed to be touched and lived
The first intervention is signed by the Barcelona studio Flowers by Bornay, led by Joan Xapelli, which has created large-format portals that reinterpret two of the city's great emblems: the iron doors of La Pedrera and the ceramic roof of Casa Batlló. These are wooden structures that artisans have covered with flowers line by line. "It's a haute couture job," Noelia Collado clarified to describe the precision of the installation.
For Xapelli, the connection of his doors with the architect is obvious: "For me, Gaudí is nature." The designer recalls that when you look at one of his works you always find leaves, flowers, and colors. On this occasion, he has been inspired by the main door of La Pedrera, the one that served as access for residents and the first cars. "It's a door that always goes unnoticed, but it's pure nature," he points out. The objective is to show how Gaudí's work integrates into the daily life of the city, in everyday elements where children play or cats sleep. To achieve this, they have played with the colors of the stained glass windows of the Sagrada Familia, mixing orange dahlias, blue delphinium, lisianthus, and green hydrangeas.
A domestic biopsy with Jordi Bernadó
The most human and curious vision is signed by photographer Jordi Bernadó (Lleida, 1966). With his camera, Bernadó has managed to literally open the doors of 24 Barcelona homes (from La Pedrera to El Raval) to offer what he himself defines as "a biopsy of life in Barcelona." His objective is to show the domestic interior, inviting the viewer not to stay on the surface of the facade. "The idea is that all the houses we have photographed become a mosaic of life in Barcelona," Bernadó explains to us.
The images are distributed through the streets of La Roca Village and show the interior of the homes of architects, filmmakers, anonymous Barcelonians, and minorities that make up the city. Among them, the home of the last tenant who still lives in La Pedrera stands out in a special way. A detail that serves to remind us that "Gaudí is not untouchable: he is mixed with the daily life of Barcelona," the photographer claims. These are twenty-four stories that portray the diversity and current identity of the city.
This free and vital spirit is complemented by the intervention of Albert Madaula. The Barcelona painter and filmmaker contributes his plastic and colorful vision, strongly rooted in the environment. "I feel like a Mediterranean being and I have felt like a child painting for La Roca," he confessed.
More than six million visitors to La Roca Village
This type of cultural and artistic initiatives demonstrate the great transformation that the Village is experiencing, which is no longer just a shopping space. Currently, La Roca Village receives more than six million visitors a year. The most notable fact is the change in the profile of the people who visit it: the international visitor has an increasing weight. And although a very solid European base is maintained, a strong impulse of travelers coming from the United States, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia has been detected.
Only 40 minutes from the city, the complex functions as a reflection of Barcelona. Its streets host more than 150 boutiques of local and international brands with discounts of up to 60%, where we find luxury stores with gastronomic spaces offering regional cuisine.
The link with Gaudí's city
As a culmination of this presentation, the experience ended with a guided tour of La Pedrera, closing the circle between the installation at La Roca Village and the work of the Catalan genius.
From here we want to personally thank our guide, Miquel, for a detailed, interesting, and curious explanation that accompanied us through the interior patios, the stairs, the interior of the house, the attics and, as it could not be otherwise, its iconic rooftop. A perfect and inspiring closing for the presentation of an artistic project that invites us to rediscover the city from another perspective.
A Door to Barcelona has an immersive purpose. The objective of La Roca Village is to bring art closer to people, allowing the public to interact and touch it. And, to do so, flower doors have been created that can be crossed, and the reality of Barcelona homes has been shown to remind us that Gaudí's works are not museum pieces: they are living realities that coexist with us in the streets.
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