As Barcelona gears up to be the World Capital of Architecture in 2026, it is calling on young architects under 35 to reimagine 10 permanent blind walls, one in each district, and transform them into new facades that will leave a legacy in the city. This International Ideas Competition for Young Architects aims to improve the quality of public space through transformation and revitalization. Organized by the Barcelona City Council and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, made jointly with UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA), it seeks architectural proposals that give meaning to walls that are currently anonymous and without any prominence, exposed in public space in a permanent provisional state.
The World Capital of Architecture will have a strong presence in the city in 2026—the year in which Barcelona will also host the UIA World Congress of Architecture—but its mark and impact will go beyond this year. In this sense, it is proposed that the legacy it leaves in the city will be through two paths: one of which will be this competition, and the other, a large-scale model of the city linked to a space for reflection and dissemination of architecture.
Blind Walls in the City of Barcelona
Barcelona City Council, through the Municipal Institute of Urban Landscape and Quality of Life (IMPU), has counted around 6,000 blind walls with a strong presence in the city’s public spaces. Ten permanent blind walls have been selected for the competition, one for each district. These are party walls of buildings that will not disappear since, according to current planning, they will not be covered by other buildings and at the same time confront public spaces, with the visual impact that this entails.
The proposals submitted will be evaluated according to the following objectives: urban quality, habitability, sustainability and biodiversity.
The 10 selected locations are as follows:
Plaça de Martina Castells (Ciutat Vella)
C/Hospital 128, 130, 132 i 138. Plaça Martina Castells
Dante Aliguieri,151 (Horta-Guinardó)
C/Moratín, 6 i C/Dante Aliguieri, 151
Agustí i Milà, 55 (Sant Andreu)
C/Agustí i Milà, 55. Placeta de Grau
Nàpols, 103 (Eixample)
C/Nàpols 103, 99 – Jardins de la cta Antiga d’Horta
Pare Rodés 27 (Nou Barris)
C/Pare Rodés, 27. Placeta de Charlot
Quetzal (Sants-Montjuïc)
C/Quetzal 5-7 i 17-21
Avinguda de Madrid, 161 (les Corts)
Av/Madrid 161, cantonada amb C/Lluçà
Jardins de Marià Manent (Sarrià-Sant Gervasi)
C/Hurtado, 7 i Espinoi, 11. Jardins Marià Manent
Rosselló, 379 (Gràcia)
C/Rosselló, 379. Jardins Caterina Albert
Competition Details and Schedule
- For architects with a degree in any country in the world and under 35 years of age.
- The period for submitting ideas is from June 10 to August 5, 2024.
- The jury will select a winning proposal and a second and third prize for each of the sites, the competition has a prize fund of 52.500 euros.
- The winners will be announced on September 25, 2024.
- The budget for the implementation of the 10 selected proposals will be approximately 4.5 million euros and will be covered by the Barcelona City Council.
- The application to the competition is free.
Find more information here and download the brief and amendments.
