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he Barcelona City Council announced this Thursday that a hub of facilities, public housing, and a lot of green space will occupy the site of the Modelo prison, closed since 2017. The heritage and memory of the old penitentiary center will be maintained without erecting new buildings, and the essence of the panopticon structure that has characterized the building's image will be preserved. The council expects works to begin in the next term, despite the initial goal of doing so in 2020.
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Model, batega! has been the project selected by the jury as the best proposal for the reorganization and transformation of the old prison, converting a closed enclosure into an open one with city uses. The technical team Forgas Arquitectes and Planas Esquius Segatti obtained the highest score in the public competition, launched in May 2019. The proposal aligned with the criteria established by the master plan, agreed upon with residents in a participatory process, and the modification of the metropolitan general plan, initially approved and regulating the 27,723 square meters of the entire space.
The jury, composed of council members, professionals, and external representatives, highlighted the winning proposal's "strong commitment" to preserving the image of La Modelo "understood as a whole." Furthermore, it was valued that the program of public facilities and housing was successfully integrated into the existing buildings, gaining surface area and incorporating them into the future urban park.
A nursery, a school-institute, a residential facility, a sports pavilion, a memorial space, one for young people, and another for social and solidarity economy will coexist in the old Modelo and serve the Eixample neighborhood and Barcelona as a whole. There will also be an environmental classroom and artistic spaces linked to other facilities. In total, these facilities will add up to 24,131 square meters and will be located in three existing buildings: the administration building, facing Entença street; the workshops building, facing Nicaragua; and the panopticon.
The public housing will occupy 14,150 square meters and will be located in the arms of the panopticon, exceeding the surface area reserve requested in the competition, which was 12,292 square meters. The urban park will have 14,510 square meters, also expanding what was planned in the competition. The green space, which will become a new green lung in the Eixample, will be well integrated with the buildings of the enclosure and the panopticon will be the structuring element of the routes, while the galleries will serve as interior corridors.
Next steps to follow
Once the proposal Model, batega! has been chosen, the drafting team will prepare the overall planning project and the open spaces project during the coming year, based on the winning bid, a process that will last about nine months and will have a budget of 360,000 euros. These will serve as a guide for the City Council to launch in 2022 the competitions to draft each of the construction projects for the planned facilities, uses, and spaces.
Ada Colau's council has emphasized that the urban transformation of La Modelo will be provided with resources "depending on budgetary availability and the post-pandemic situation," with the aim of "starting the works as soon as possible."