The former central prison of Barcelona is undergoing a major transformation into something that is not decided yet, except for one clear thing: it will not be a top-down decision but the result of a participative process with residents and citizenship. Here you can follow it up, also finding a lot of documents. And here you can find our opinion about one of the mai aspect of the transformation: the memory and the archituctural preservation (in CAT and ESP).

MMM, “Mies Missing Materiality”, has been the installation that architects Anna & Eugeni Bach, have set during a few days in November 2017 at the Mies Van Der Rohe Pavilion in Montjuïc, Barcelona. It is well known that the current pavilion is a thirdy-year old reconstruction of the original 1929 building and, therefore, is almost a fake, a replica made in the same place, with the same sizes and the same materials. The Bachs have therefore decided to explain this lier essence of the building, operating a transubstantiation that completely anhilated the celebrated combination of

Barcelona is in a long-time struggle against the side effects of its touristic booming. Dynamics of substitution of population have started to be a real problem as a consequence of the increasing price of housing, strongly influenced by the extended presence of tourist flats. In the middle of such an effort not to be overwelmed by its own success, a sudden terror attack in its most emblematic public space, the Ramblas, put another actor on the scene: the sense of insecurity nowadays clearly perceptible in many global cities and that was not present at all in the Catalan capital. In this text (

Everybody agrees: tourism is a great source of economic income for any city in the short term and a powerful boost for its growth and promotion in the long term. But what happens in terms of coexistence between the city as an urban reality with its social and structural needs and the city as a product mainly manifactured through architecture, urbanism, restoration and public space? Together with AxA association we’ve organized a short cycle of conference on this topic (in CATALAN). A short description of what have been discussed has been published in Revista Diagonal n.40 (here you can r

For more than two centuries, the discussion on architectonical heritage has been mostly about authenticity and the relation between the single monument and the urban fabric. The growing tourism business and the raising conscience for every cultural sensibility, have now shifted the debate from conservation to usage. In Florence, between nov. 9th and 14th, the General Assembly of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) 1200 scholars, architects, professionals and administrators have discussed about this change. Here you have my notes (in ITALIAN): LA RIVISTA CULTURALE

Along July 2014 two important conferences on urban matters took place: the 21th International Seminar on Urban Form (ISUF) from 3 to 6 in Porto, Portugal, and the 16th International Planning History Society (IPHS) in St. Augustine, Florida. The subjects were “Our Common Future in Urban Morphology” for the ISUF and “Past as Guide to Sustainable Futures” for the IPHS. In both cases, we’ve had a perfect organization in amazing locations. Also the quality of the papers, presented by authors from all over the world, has generally been very satisfactory. For sure, the boundaries am

In Barcelona, along the coming month of June, a cycle of public conversations will be held about the social and physical situation of Ciutat Vella, the historic center. The cycle is organized by independent local associations and will meet five different places around Ciutat Vella. More information here (in SPANISH and CATALAN): FACEBOOK EVENT You can also follow the #xerradesxcv on twitter. (the aerial picture is by Duccio Malagamba)

This is the dissertation of Alessandro Scarnato for his PhD title, in ESTAB school of architecture of Barcelona. Juanjo Lahuerta, ETSAB (left), Paola Di Biagi, IUAV (right) and Joan Busquets, Harvard (right edge) have been the members of the jury who gave the maximum evaluation, “cum laude” to the research led by Alessandro Scarnato under the supervision of Antonio Pizza, ETSAB (in the center). The research deals with the historic center of Barcelona between 1979 and 2011. The period is marked by a continuity of government unique in democratic systems, which has allowed the develop

The number 120 of italian magazine Area is dedicated to Beirut. Alessandro Scarnato is the curator together with Charbel Maskineh and Nicola Santini. The “bride of Middle East” is explored about its current situation, focusing on the unstoppable real estate developments. An interview with Bernard Khoury and a photographic social trip by Edoardo Delille, enrich the publication. Check it out here, to purchase: AREA MAGAZINE

BLAST links different disciplines through their essential common points. We believe in architecture and design as triggers and strategical tools for any process of improvement, both in personal and social aspects. We consider design as a form of understanding and managing reality in order to progress towards new possibilities. In our thinking, a designer is much more than an artist or a marketing person and in any collaboration, project or job, we act as partners rather than consultants. We love to investigate, reflect, debate, create and operate with a design-oriented attitude. BLAST is the o