The Three Chimneys, from industrial past to the architecture of the future

The Tres Xemeneies of Sant Adrià de Besòs —popularly known as "the Sagrada Familia of the workers"— have been for decades one of the great symbols of the metropolitan industrial landscape. A former thermal power plant until 2011, the building shares with Gaudí's temple an imposing presence that marks the horizon and, now also, a new stage of transformation and construction works. After years of uncertainty and future projects that have prevented its demolition, the space partially reopened with the Manifesta art biennial and is preparing to become the future audiovisual hub Catalunya Media City. Meanwhile, it has been one of the main venues for the World Congress of Architecture, which this week has brought together more than 10,000 professionals from 130 countries to reflect on the future of architecture. Once the congress is over, the building opens its facilities and the exhibition that has been part of the event to the public, offering a new way to delve into this iconic space in full transformation.