Guest tutorials with ETSAB

We were lucky enough to be visited by two formal colleagues of Federico today. Xavier llobet and Josep Maria Fort teach the Architecture and Urban Design Post graduate Master course of the School of Barcelona (ETSAB). It provided us with the opportunity to discuss our projects with architecture and urban designers with an intimate knowledge of Barcelona.

In particular, I was interested in their opinion on the skyline of the city. Skyscrapers should not exceed the height of the Sagrada Familia. They explained the idea of the Cerda plan, that the blocks of five to six storeys are designed with commercial at ground level, the next level linked to the commercial after which the principal floor would house the homes of the wealthy individuals. The top of the building is occupied by the poorer residents. This layering of the city, across the whole Eixample district shows distinct social intergration horizontally. They explained that the streets then function as the social connections, the streets are where all the children play, regardless of what level they live on. The Cerda urban plan formed a homogenous landscape.

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