Barcelona’s rapidly growing architectural tourism eventually led its political and business leaders to pursue another program that would build, literally and figuratively, upon this success; a program which we could call ‘touristic architecture’. If there is such a growing demand to visit historic buildings that were never originally intended for tourists, then why not complement that with spectacular new works of architecture constructed as tourist attractions from the very outset? Indeed, the reconstruction of the German Pavilion from 1983 to 1986 by architects Ignasi de Solà-Morales, Cristian Cirici and Fernando Ramos, working for Barcelona City Council, can be seen as a project that straddles both architectural tourism and touristic architecture. The original pavilion had long been demolished, having stood for only a year; it nevertheless acquired a certain mythical status thanks to the circulation in print media of a series of grainy black and white photographs. The Barcelona Pavilion is one of only a handful of Modernist buildings to be entirely rebuilt from scratch for no other reason than its significance in architectural history. Whereas the original pavilion was designed as a temporary stand for an exposition, the reconstruction was designed to last over a century. The Barcelona Pavilion that stands today was moreover built as a tourist attraction. It was of course also an important reconstruction project of architectural-historical interest, but cultural tourism and the display of art history always go hand-in-hand. Indeed, even the original 1929 German pavilion was a tourist attraction of sorts: it was built for a world exposition with the intention of burnishing the image of post-WWI Germany. Officially, it is no longer called the German or the Barcelona Pavilion, but rather Pavelló Mies van der Rohe , in honour of the architect of the original structure. Barcelona’s architectural tourism sites consist of historic works. Some, such as the Cathedral or the basilica of Santa María del Mar have not changed use but nevertheless charge tourists nominal admission fees. Medieval Catalan Civil Gothic structures such as the Saló del Tinell or the Drassanes shipyard have been converted into museums; the City History Museum and the Maritime Museum respectively. The Modernista Art Nouveau era is represented by seven works by Gaudí ( Palau Güell , Cripta Güell , Park Güell , Casa Viçens , Casa Batlló , La Pedrera , and the yet to be completed expiatory temple of La Sagrada Família ), three by Lluís Domènech i Montaner ( Casa Morera , Hospital Sant Pau , and Palau de la Música Catalana ) and three by Josep Puig i Cadafalch ( Casa de les Puntxes , CaixaForum , and Casa Amatller ); works that underwent extensive restoration and adaptation. Barcelona’s touristic architecture, by contrast, consists of newly built works with tourism as their main program. These include, in addition to the already mentioned Pavelló Mies van der Rohe , the 1992 Olympic telecommunications tower by Norman Foster and the 2006 Glòries Tower by Jean Nouvel, two full-fledged tourist attractions requiring admission tickets. Other examples of touristic architecture are more subtly masked as museums or public markets, examples of which include the MACBA contemporary art museum by Richard Meier (1995), the Forum building by Herzog & de Meuron (2004), the Santa Caterina Market by EMBT (2006), the Design Museum of Barcelona by MBM (2008), Barcelona’s iconic flea market by B720 (2010), the Barcelona Film Institute by MAP (2010), and the bizarre MediaTIC office building by Cloud 9 (2010). These are all freestanding structures contrasting materially and formally with their surroundings, and often prominently sited at the ends of visual axes while featuring larger than usual public spaces to maximise visibility and handle tourist hordes.
all images Rafael Gòmez-Moriana
7 on site review 46 :: travel
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