Cranes and the skeletons of buildings under construction mix with masts and sails in the profile of Port Olímpic. The hum of machines and the banging of construction work drown out the clinking of metal cables and the sound of mooring lines tightening. Despite the movement of the works and the coming and going of trucks, the small port exudes an atmosphere of serenity that invites contemplation, perhaps of the very ebb and flow of the works. The silhouettes of the workers are outlined like Chinese shadows against the buildings under construction, in an incessant and accelerated dance. With haste and without pause, they continue with the comprehensive reformulation of Port Olímpic. The objective? To have it ready by September 2024 at the latest, when the port will host the women's and youth competitions of the America's Cup. The transformation has this competition on the horizon and, as a beacon, sustainability, the blue economy, and openness to the city.
"What we are looking for is permeability" and for the port to maintain an open dialogue with the city and its surroundings, states the director of Port Olímpic, Olga Cerezo. With the transformation, they intend for the port to sneak into the imagination of Barcelona residents as a place to stroll and as a social and family meeting point. How to achieve this? By modifying its uses and connecting it better with the rest of the city. To do this, they have projected new accesses and public squares, as Cerezo explains from the Port Olímpic Captaincy building.
The arrival at the facility has already revealed the magnitude of the transformation and the pace at which it is progressing: to enter the port, the ramp that started from Marina street is no longer used; it has become a piece of scalextric concrete, unused and with its days numbered. Access has been replaced by a new ramp that connects Avenida Litoral with Moll de Mestral, dominated by nightlife venues before undertaking this reconfiguration of the port and its uses.
The transformation aims to open Port Olímpic to the city, making it so porous that one can arrive at the port without intending to.This new access, opened in September, will not be the only way to reach Port Olímpic: a road will connect Nova Icària Beach with Moll de Gregal, which will house gastronomy spread out by large squares. Thus, the previously compact restaurant area gives way to four luminous buildings separated by extensive public spaces that will allow light to filter into all the dining establishments. Seeking "permeability" and interconnection between spaces, the upper-floor squares will connect with the lower level of the port via elevators, as Cerezo explains. All of this, with one goal: to open Port Olímpic to the city and its citizens, making it so porous that it allows one to reach the port without intending to, whether during a spontaneous stroll or between daily chores.
That one arrives and, furthermore, stays. How? By offering a civic space with benches, sun loungers, green areas, and fewer cars, which will be able to enter directly from the new access to a car park that will open in 2024. With its remodeling, the port gains another brand-new promenade area: the upper walkway of the breakwater will open to citizens as a balcony towards the sea, and as a privileged box to watch the America's Cup regattas. However, strolling will not be the only activity with which the port wants to attract Barcelona residents: gastronomy, the blue economy, and nautical activities will also be key in the Port Olímpic, "a small port with a popular nautical spirit," according to Cerezo.
A company of solar-powered boats and another of non-polluting materials for boat maintenance are examples of the projects that Port Olímpic wants to attract.Precisely, the port spirit of the environment led to defining the blue economy as the central axis of the transformation, executed by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM). In fact, the Olympic Port wants to become the first hub focused on this sector of the city, although it will not be the only one. With this objective, any company that wants to operate from this port must be framed within the economy related to the sea, whether from the service, recreational, informative or training field. However, the type of company that Port Olímpic prioritizes goes further: it aims to host innovative and technological companies and projects that generate a positive impact on water and the sea.
Cerezo tells it while, through the window, a small boat can be seen silently navigating the port waters. It is a typical Catalan llaüt, except for one particularity: it has solar panels. Located on a small awning, they are the only source of energy that powers the purely electric motor that propels the boat. This is one of the companies that operates from the port, and an example of those it wants to attract with its renovation. "Having the prototype here helps us visualize and pull" in this direction and on the path of sustainability, Cerezo highlights. The same happens with another of the companies, focused on the creation of non-polluting materials for the maintenance of boats.
The director of Port Olímpic assures that the reform will be ready for the America's Cup: "The deadlines are tight, but we are complying and we will make it"These companies will be located in the premises previously occupied by nightlife proposals, with an adaptation of the Mestral dock that has required an investment of 6.8 million euros. The companies will also be in new premises on the breakwater, which has been reinforced and renovated with an investment of 7.7 million. In total, the Olympic Port will have more than 50 premises, 12 of which were awarded before summer. The rest are in process, with the aim of having at least 80% of the premises awarded when the America's Cup begins. "It is important to give life and movement to the port, and we want to generate community and synergies among companies," which is why equipment such as an auditorium with a capacity of 150 people will be made available to them, Cerezo highlights.
El Balcó Gastronòmic
Those who work in these new port companies will share with visitors another of the axes that have focused its transformation: gastronomy. El Balcó Gastronòmic will have 11 restaurants and gastronomic shops, after works with an investment that has amounted to 20.6 million euros. Ten establishments have already been awarded, which will offer culinary proposals ranging from Mediterranean cuisine to appetizers, including flexitarian food.
One of the restaurants and the three gastronomic shops are yet to be defined, which will be awarded through an open tender in November. All with the aim that the new kitchens are up and running at the latest before the Youth America's Cup begins on September 19, which will precede the women's competition, starting on October 3. Full steam ahead in a calendar accelerated by the regatta, since initially it was planned to start reconfiguring the port's catering in 2024. "The deadlines are tight, but we are complying and we are going to make it," says the director of Port Olímpic.
Sustainability as a backdrop
Diners who come to the port's restaurants will eat under a peculiar roof. The four buildings that will house the establishments will be crowned by large solar panels. With an investment of 1.9 million, they will form the photovoltaic surface with the most power in Barcelona's urban fabric. So much so, that they expect it to supply energy not only to the port, but also to nearby facilities, such as car parks and Zoo installations. "We want Port Olímpic to be a benchmark in sustainability and a 21st century port," proclaims B:SM's Head of Sustainability, David Serrano. To this end, they have promoted measures ranging from water consumption to mobility, including food waste, which has been taken into account in the awarding of restaurants.
Port Olímpic will use the America's Cup showcase to demonstrate that electric boats "are no longer a myth"The cooling of blue economy premises using seawater; the installation of concrete shells to which marine life can adhere, and the placement of steel baskets with mollusk shells to promote biodiversity are some examples of the measures that the port has promoted in the interest of sustainability. They also include creating a differentiated groundwater network from drinking water for tasks such as cleaning ships. These works represent an approximate annual consumption of 7,000 cubic meters that are now consumed from water suitable for ingestion. This figure is equivalent to more than half of the port's estimated water consumption, about 13,000 cubic meters per year, which have also been affected by the current drought situation.
Mobility is also a key element in this commitment to sustainability. The port will install two ultra-fast electric charging points that can be used for both cars and boats, which will be able to have 90 kilometers of autonomy with 20 minutes of charging, depending on their dimensions and power. It will do so with an investment of 1.05 million euros, 423,200 of which come from a subsidy framed within the Recovery Plan of the Next Generation funds. Installing these charging points represents "a way to pull the sector" towards its electrification, according to Serrano.
This effect is intended to be amplified with the America's Cup showcase: a dozen electric boats from Catalan industrialists will be used for displacements during the competition, with the aim of giving them visibility and highlighting that electric maritime mobility "is no longer a myth and that there are increasingly more offers of this type," Cerezo concludes. Thus, Port Olímpic aims to become a port adapted to the nautical of the future. And it does so following this new course at full speed, with one purpose: a Port Olímpic that looks to the city, and a city that looks to Port Olímpic.