The Ciutadella del Coneixement, an initiative that aims to convert this area of Barcelona into a scientific hub, already has its first action defined. The future research complex formed by centers of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), the Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (IBE), and the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) has chosen the architectural studios that will build the three buildings that will integrate it. After concretizing the architectural proposal for the BIST, which will be carried out by the Barcelona firm Barozzi Veiga, the buildings for the UPF and the IBE still needed to be defined.
The jury of the architectural competition has decided that they will be built by the Californian studio ZGF Architects and the Barcelona firms Mirag and Double Twist. A total of 41 teams from 10 countries submitted proposals for the competition, which was launched in June 2021. Of these, the jury chose five. Regarding the winning proposal, the president of the jury, Jaume Casals, former rector of the UPF, highlighted "the urban balance and the joint understanding of the area that goes from the Dipòsit de les Aigües library to the Hospital de Mar", spaces that will now be more connected with the new complex.
The Ciutadella del Coneixement will start in the Old Fish Market, where there is now a B:SM parking lot. It will be here where the new research centers will be built, which will have a total surface area of 7,500 square meters and 46,000 square meters of buildable roof. It is expected that when fully operational, around 1,200 people will work there, most of them researchers. This scientific, cultural, and urbanistic initiative aims to create a knowledge hub in the Ciutadella Park, extending over a total of 300,000 square meters and creating a new centrality in the city.
The project has been accumulating delays for some time. The first stone consists of the construction of a new parking lot, which has been delayed. The parking lot, which will become underground, will be the first B:SM parking lot to be built including different mobility services. According to the UPF, works are scheduled to begin in January 2023.