Palo Alto

Becky + Alice
Feb 6, 2016
2 min read

Once a month an abandoned factory opened its gates to Barcelona, hosting Palo Alto Market, the trendiest place to by a posh burger. Whilst the name Palo Alto (meaning long stick to mirror the central chimney) has propelled the fame of the market, it actually is the name of the collective of artists and designers, who have inhabited the old warehouses since the 80's.

Together with our tutor Federico, his wife Melina,and our guest critics from yesterday Lorenzo & Giulia, we visited Palo Alto to meet designer and collective founder José María Morera of Morera Design, and explore the lively market of food and crafts that inhabits the Palo Alto industrial complex once a month.

Upon arrival, its hard not to be immersed in the beautiful items for sale, the hipster lighting, meandering paths, acoustic music and delicious food on offer, however our first port of call was Josè's design studio to learn more about how he came to be there.

José María welcomed us warmly into his beautiful studio, a former industrial building converted by way of elegant architectural interventions and carful detailing, before giving us a talk about how he came to work there and the transformation of this post-industrial complex into the well-known, much admired ‘Palo Alto’ that stands today.

José explained that previously, this complex was at the very edge of the city, there was nothing beyond the site and therefore, following the industrial evolution that happened in Poble Nou, this site and the buildings were left semi-abandoned. As a designer, he was looking for a place of cheaper rent and therefore began renting a space along with a number of other artists and designers, many of whom stayed and evolved on the site, and over time became patrons of the site, entering into collaborations and agreements with the council and private investors to create a ‘Palo Alto Foundation’ that ultimately manage and determine the site, the occupants and the events there to create a collaborative approach to governing and maintaining the complex. Interestingly, the name ‘Palo Alto’ was given to the untied complex by the patrons and translates as ‘long stick,’making reference to the distinguishing chimney in the centre of the complex.

After his enlightening talk, we were free to explore the bustling market of food, drinks, crafts and clothes that kept us entertained all through the evening! Although slightly conterversial amongst Poble Nou residents, Palo Alto forms a great case study for examination and comparison with our own post-industrial site of Can Ricart. The collaborative ownership and governance is particularly interesting in demonstrating the balance between private investment, public ownership and community involvement.