This is how the reform of the Montjuïc exhibition center will be, with 500 homes and facilities

The Barcelona City Council, after carrying out a participatory process among the entities and residents of the Sants-Montjuïc district and with the consensus of Fira de Barcelona, has presented a proposal for the remodeling of the current exhibition spaces in Barcelona, to gain urban surface area and allocate it to housing and public facilities.

The council wants to carry out the transformation of this area with the horizon of 2029, coinciding with the centenary of the Barcelona International Exposition, compacting the current exhibition use spaces that will be able to maintain their activity, with a rehabilitation of the historic buildings, integrating them into the urban fabric and orienting them towards small or medium-sized events. In fact, the space for exhibition use will be reduced by half, from 130,000 square meters to just over 70,000 square meters.

With the availability of the freed-up surfaces, the City Council wants to project some 500 affordable public housing units, in the current space occupied by the pavilion located on Lleida street with Paral·lel. In addition, six facilities will be launched: a primary care center (CAP), an assistance center for the elderly, a library, a neighborhood space, a sports facility where the Italian Pavilion now stands and, probably, the Victoria Eugenia Palace will be allocated to the expansion of the MNAC. The library, for its part, would be located in what is known as the Casa de la Prensa.

Regarding the Alfonso XIII Pavilion, the current idea is for it to house a cultural and scientific hub. As for the pavilions below Avenida Rius i Taulet, the priority would be to preserve the Communications and Transport Pavilion and the Metallurgy Pavilion.

Among the projects that will start as soon as possible is the rehabilitation of the Italy pavilion, to transform it into a municipal sports facility, which the city council expects to be able to manage by early 2023.

All the planning also foresees breaking down some of the current architectural barriers and a transversal public promenade will be opened that connects the neighborhoods of Poble-sec and Font de la Guatlla crossing the current Metallurgy Pavilion and Plaça de l'Univers. 23,000 square meters will also be reserved for green areas and promenades.

The project will now materialize in a collaboration agreement between the Barcelona City Council and Fira de Barcelona and will serve as the basis for a Modification of the Metropolitan General Plan that the municipal government expects to have approved before the end of the year.

The general director of Fira de Barcelona, ​​Constantí Serrallonga, defends the proposal because it presents "a balance that allows combining in this space, so emblematic for the city and relevant for the institution, fair activity with new housing, equipment and other citizen uses, renewing and modernizing our facilities to turn them into a unique space for the 21st century and bringing new values ​​to residents and the entire city."

From Fira de Barcelona, it is considered that the activity maintained in Montjuïc will be well complemented by the Gran Via fairgrounds, whose expansion is already underway, and which is intended for large national and international events. They also value that the rehabilitation and adaptation of the Montjuïc fair palaces will allow their transformation into intelligent spaces under parameters of sustainability and digitalization, with an optimization of logistical operations.