The San Bertran sheds, built between 1965 and 1966, have witnessed the evolution of the port for decades. Originally designed for storage and port logistics, they became obsolete with technological advances and changes in commercial dynamics. Their last occupants were the Mooring society of mooring operators and the Sal Costa company, two activities already disappeared from the dock. Far from opting for their demolition, as was done in its day with the large cold storage building of Interfrisa, on the same dock, the project opts for the reuse and modernization of these structures, in line with the principles of the circular economy.
With an investment of around 60 million euros and the works awarded to COMSA and VOPI4, the 25,000 square meters of the sheds will be transformed into a large innovation hub dedicated to the blue economy. The execution, planned for a period of 28 months, will allow the Blue Tech Port to be operational in 2028 and aims to become one of the European benchmarks in sustainable technologies linked to the maritime sector. According to forecasts, the complex will be able to host up to 2,500 professionals.
What will happen?
But what exactly is the Blue Tech Port? Driven by the Port of Barcelona in collaboration with Tech Barcelona and now developed together with World Trade Center Barcelona (the joint venture of the port and FCC), the project is conceived as an ecosystem for startups, scaleups, accelerators and institutions specialized in blue innovation. In the sheds, technological solutions will be developed for traditional sectors such as fishing, maritime transport or port logistics, with a clear focus on sustainability: marine renewable energies, environmental monitoring systems, digitalization and artificial intelligence applied to port management.
The Blue Tech Port, however, will not just be a building. Its ambition is to be the epicenter of an ecosystem that overflows the limits of the San Bertran dock and turns the entire port into a large test bed. In fact, some of the companies already installed are testing prototypes and solutions in real conditions, using enabled sections of the Barcelona Nord dock, where smaller cruise ships docked until a few months ago. A port sandbox model that will be progressively scaled to the rest of the enclosure.
In its embryonic phase, initiated at Pier01 of Palau de Mar next to the Museu d'Història de Catalunya, the Blue Tech Port started with a handful of startups. Today, 25 companies are already part of this ecosystem, fostering synergies and collaborations aimed at ecological transition. Its future location, between the urban limit of Barcelona, the port and the Montjuïc mountain, is not accidental: the project seeks to reinforce the connection between the city and its coastline, integrating with the future expansion of the Moll de la Fusta and opening the port area a little more to the public.
What it aims for is the "humanization" of this area. What until now was a functional, closed and eminently industrial enclave will become a more permeable space, with green areas, meeting areas and programming open to the public. Collaborative offices, R&D laboratories and networking spaces will coexist with port activity, generating qualified employment, attracting international investment and consolidating Barcelona as one of the reference poles of the blue economy.
B720, the architects
Architecture plays a key role in this metamorphosis. The project bears the signature of the B720 studio, led by Fermín Vázquez and Ana Bassat, winners of the competition for the design of the Blue Tech Port. The name of the studio is not accidental: it refers to the Dewey Decimal Classification system, used in libraries around the world, which assigns the number 720 to architecture, placing it between technology and literature. A declaration of intent that well summarizes their way of understanding the discipline: knowledge, functionality, and creativity at the service of the environment.
B720 is committed to highlighting what already existed: the structure and original volumetry of the sheds. The project preserves their port identity while introducing a contemporary and technological image. A new cube-shaped volume will emerge over the existing roof, floating on the horizon and establishing a dialogue between the industrial heritage of the 60s of the last century and the contemporary intervention.
It is not the first time that Vázquez and his team have worked in port or infrastructural contexts. Their trajectory includes projects such as Alguaire Airport, in Lleida; the emblematic Veles e Vents in the port of Valencia, designed together with David Chipperfield; the Chamartín, La Sagrera, and Gijón railway stations; the Encants Market or urban interventions such as the Plaza del Torico in Teruel. In Barcelona, B720 has also participated in large-scale projects such as the Agbar Tower, together with Jean Nouvel, or the future Spotify Camp Nou, conceived as a more sustainable stadium open to the city.
What will it be like?
The Blue Tech Port will be articulated as a flexible system of workspaces organized around a sequence of interconnected interior plazas. These spaces will favor the entry of natural light, cross-ventilation, and orientation, generating a healthy and adaptable environment. The intervention on the roof will improve circulation and accessibility, as well as facilitate the maintenance of the building.
Sustainability is one of the central axes of the project. The building will incorporate energy efficiency measures, use of responsible materials, and systems to optimize natural lighting, ventilation, and water management. The goal is to achieve practically zero CO₂ emissions through solar panels, cogeneration systems, and rainwater harvesting.
The Blue Tech Port will be a common thread connecting different geographies and themes: from Lleida airport to Valencia port, from football to the sea, from skyscrapers to markets, and from infrastructure to innovation. A retrofuturistic revival of 1965 sheds on the San Bertran dock, oriented towards the blue economy and with the sea and ships as a backdrop.