OOOnes
Finalist proposal for the Catalunya Media City competition, developed jointly with Sauerbruch Hutton, which transforms the Tres Xemeneies —a symbol of Barcelona’s industrial past— into a new cultural and technological landmark along the metropolitan seafront. The turbine hall remains the central volume and becomes an active public space, connected to the park and open to the sea.
The key architectural gesture of the proposal is the reinterpretation of the chimneys’ curved geometry, which becomes the formal language of the new constructions. These curves extend towards the sea like ship prows, forming three new volumes —of 3, 2 and 1 bodies— that gently surround the existing building. Their fluid shape avoids competing with the turbine hall’s orthogonality, instead enhancing its symbolic presence and establishing a dialogue between industrial architecture and the natural landscape.
With a strong respect for heritage, the proposal preserves the original visual reading of the turbine hall from the sea. The new volumes do not exceed the height of the existing building and are separated by shadow joints that maintain its distinct identity. Constructed with lightweight timber and steel structures and wrapped in a textile skin, the new additions bring a contemporary and subtle contrast to the solidity of the original concrete mass.
The building connects to the urban fabric of Sant Adrià del Besòs through a public passage that crosses a covered hall nestled within a forest of concrete columns. This porch acts as an interior square, organizing access to the entire programme. The fully glazed ground floor ensures visual and physical permeability, embedding the building into the continuous seafront between Barcelona and Badalona.
This set of strategies allows the project to embrace its inherited condition while projecting it into a future scenario rooted in innovation, creativity, and civic openness.
