The Fira Montjuïc reform advances with the selection of the 15 finalist architecture studios

New step forward in the reform of the Montjuïc palaces. More than 120 architecture studios have submitted bids for the remodeling of the fairgrounds, which will modernize the current facilities and build a new Congress Palace and a startup incubator. Among all the candidacies, 15 firms have been chosen to present their proposal for the final phase. With a global investment of 290 million euros, the forecast is to have a large part of the works finished by 2029, coinciding with the centenary of the 1929 Universal Exhibition.

The competition is divided into three lots, focusing on the different parts of Fira Montjuïc to be acted upon. Although different firms will be in charge of each part, there will be a single jury that will evaluate all proposals to guarantee the unity of the project, chaired by architect Josep Lluís Mateo. Although the possibility of some firms submitting bids for all three lots was considered, in the end, none did.

Many national and some international studios have submitted bids for the call, such as the Danish Bjarke Ingels Group Architecture, responsible for the Lego House in Billund, and the Portuguese Aires Mateus, allied with the Barcelona-based Metronom Arquitectura, now engrossed in the reform of Casa Tosquella.

Most are located in the Catalan capital, but there are also Spanish firms, such as the Madrid-based Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos and Estudio Herreros ---responsible for the new Munch Museum---, and the Seville-based Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos.

Also noteworthy are Pich-Aguilera Arquitectes, with the CaixaFòrum Málaga project underway, and Bach Arquitectes, responsible for the Banco Sabadell offices, the Palau Macaya, and the urbanization of Vila Olímpica. One of them, Urbanitree, knows the area to be acted upon very well, with its headquarters located in the same Plaza España.

All of them will work on their proposal in the coming months, with time to present it until February 2025. For the elaboration of the projects, they will receive financial compensation. The names of the three winners will be announced during the first quarter of next year.

Different projects

The first lot of the architectural competition focuses on a part of the current palace 8 of Fira Montjuïc, located on the right side of the fairgrounds. In what is today the access from Plaça Espanya, the old Palacio del Vestido, the Fira Innovation Hub will be installed, where large companies, SMEs, startups, research centers, and universities will gather under the same roof to find new business avenues.

The second leg will serve to modernize the spaces located on the left side of the venue, where palace 1 ---the first thing seen from Plaça Espanya--- and the Palau de Congressos de Barcelona are located. Palace 1, with 12,000 square meters, will be updated, while the Palau de Congressos will be moved and replaced by a two-story exhibition pavilion. Finally, the third refers to the new Palau de Congressos, which will be located in the now empty Palacio Alfons XIII, on the left side of the Montjuïc fountain.

Works are expected to begin in 2026. In a second phase, planned from 2029, palace 1 will be updated, thus avoiding leaving the Montjuïc venue without fair activity during its transformation project. The rehabilitation of palace 8 ---the part not affected by the Fira Innovation Hub--- will remain pending. It will also be necessary to address the expansion of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) in the Palacio de Victòria Eugènia and the construction of 500 public housing units in the current palace 2, the one behind Plaça del Univers, which will be demolished. Another pending issue will be to find a future for the battered Palacio de Deportes, closed since it stopped being a musical theater and with homeless people struggling to survive in its surroundings.