Regenerating Barcelona: re-inhabiting the city and reusing its buildings

Abstract

This communication is about the capacity that historical architectures have for housing new activities which are distinct to the original ones, maintaining their structural char- acteristics; while at the same time allowing, thanks to the diversity of uses, a greater public ac- cessibility to these entities. Barcelona possesses a few paradigmatic examples that demonstrate the regenerative potential of these strategies: historical complexes converted into tree-lined pas- sageways, cloisters used as arched squares, the interior area of residential blocks transformed into parks or markets used as transit zones. The need to come upon the right selection of activi- ties that these old buildings currently in disuse have to accommodate, maximizing a more po- rous relationship with the city, are necessary tactics in order to keep them standing and at the same time regenerate the indispensable bonds between architecture and urban space, offering in this manner new spheres of social relationship which contribute to their good functioning.