The Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes is one of those cardinal points that Cerdà's squared mind designated, with a set square and a protractor, to become one of the great centers (or the center itself) of the city. If neglected. I don't know if he would have named it Plaza 36 or Plaza Z, in coherence with his nameless meridians and soulless diagonals, but fortunately Saint Víctor Balaguer Bautista also had mercy on this confluence of three great arteries of Barcelona.
Now, more than a confluence of arteries, the famous tunnel daily coagulates the circulation of the adjacent streets, transforming the area into a large embolism. And it is that in this matter of naming, not only Balaguer knows, but also the people: if the square has been a drum and a Scalextric, it remains to be seen what name the sensory agoras, the multiple arboreal and shrub species that are planned, and the immersion gardens with shade structures that are already being planted will receive. In turn, the Disseny Hub building is still the stapler, and when the current Torre Glòries was erected, it already received (above all the agbares) dozens of erotic-festive, easy, and scatological popular aliases.
Now, at the top of this building designed by Nouvel (who said he had been inspired by the Sagrada Família, Montserrat, and even a geyser) a Mirador has been built. But once visited, I would say that the idea is not to look at the city. The creators of the new space thought that looking was (pardon me) very common, and that the idea should be to invite people to observe the city. More than a viewpoint, then, up here they have made an observatory.
We will start from the top, although the visit evidently begins from the bottom. So, why start here? Well, because this is where we will take our photo, the elevated area that until now was forbidden to us, the high point of the foreskin from where we can feel like improvised governors of the city. Something similar to the sensation sought with the Mirador del Alcalde, that balcony near the Morrot that allowed one to see, if not the city in 360º, then a decent 180º and with a stately view over the port. At that time, Porcioles (to whom the viewpoint was dedicated) decided to take advantage of Franco's cession of Montjuïc Castle to the city to build some terraces with a governmental name, with mosaics by Joan Josep Tharrats, a sculpture by the omnipresent Subirachs, and a fountain by Carles Buïgas (of the mutilated sculpture to the Sardana, let's not even talk about it).
The fact is that now, when we go up to the Glòries Tower, there is something of that spirit: not only are we contemplating the entire city, but, hovering above us, Tomás Sarraceno's gigantic and labyrinthine sculpture accompanies us at all times. Indeed, the experience could not only consist of looking outwards: an inward gaze was necessary, through a sculptural ensemble that you can climb into and that aims to give the effect of a pixelated cloud that has entered the tower like a metallic fog. And now the sculptures are not just looked at: they are touched, you penetrate them, you get lost.
Yes, the view is privileged. And yes, this is the true Mirador del Alcalde: in an American movie, from here the evil mad professor would hatch his plans to spread the zombie plague from the Cerdian meridians and parallels to the Marian stars of Gaudí's temple (and it must be said that, from here, the city's beauty has one of the most beautiful photos in her book). In every corner you hear the public pointing out their house (or their hotel) but also telling their city anecdotes, the streets they consider most problematic in terms of traffic, the buildings they don't remember seeing grow in the emerging 22@ (another sad nomenclature chosen by some other gray rationalist), the charming mirror buildings of the Encants, that idea they believe should be developed here or there (with an erect finger in the shape of a municipal wand) or the singular colors of the upcoming, and even more singular, superblocks. #wonderful, #beautiful, #lovebarcelona.
But before all this, and after having ascended 30 floors in an immense elevator with a transparent ceiling, the exhibition space on the 1st floor is of a very high museographic level: through sophisticated installations that combine precise digital technology, good audiovisual quality, considerable artistic sensitivity, and gigantic interactive screens, the message of the observatory is conveyed to us here: don't worry because you've paid for a viewpoint, we know, but, before looking, you will observe.
But before all this, and after having ascended 30 floors in an immense elevator with a transparent ceiling, the exhibition space on the 1st floor is of a very high museographic levelThey call these different "glasses," this observatory, the Hypermirador: in this tour, visitors can learn about the infinity of animal species they don't know cohabit with them in the city, or the exact wind speed at that moment, the state of each tree on each sidewalk, the number of inhabitants, the degrees of pollution... A concentration of big dataelegantly presented, not always of maximum utility (everything must be said), but mostly instructive and surprising. See? You didn't know that.You'll have time to go up later, but first let us clarify that this city is not a set but a living organism. Pretend it's a city, we will make it seem for a moment that people live here and that things happen, and when we have absorbed this new sensibility we can go to the top to do Porcioles.
In a resounding way, the authors of that tour have decided to avoid any image of frivolity. There is only one problem: people are frivolous. And after the lecture they will continue pointing to the stapler, identifying the W Hotel, speculating about the Tres Xemeneies and climbing the sculpture as if it were a park swing. All of this, from the top of that suppository that lights up at night. The tourist will have thought the same, but will not say it. In any case, they will have been able to take a good photo, right? Well, come on. #suckmyglòries.
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