Barcelona links : application of research by design to the study of urbanism

Abstract

The Barcelona Urbanism Laboratory (LUB) is an applied research center formed by researchers who are involved in teaching urbanism workshops at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSABUPC). Since 2010, the “Projecte urbà i urbanisme de les ciutats” (Urban design and urbanism in cities) program has examined several locations in the metropolis of Barcelona that face situations of negative disconnection for which it would be interesting to imagine new urban conditions (Parcerisa and Crosas 2013). One notable case is that of the Barcelona Rondas, an urban highway that is approximately circular. Forty kilometers long, the Rondas was constructed between 1987 and 1992 based on the provisions of the Plan Arterial 1966. This great public work is contradictory because it combines exemplary urban development solutions with others that are more traumatic for the surrounding environment