diumenge, 2 de gener del 2011

Parc de la Ciutadella

Parc de la Ciutadella is an urban area that has changed it's character several times through the history, and is a result of this transformation process. The park is situated between Ciutat Vella, Barceloneta, Eixample and Vila Olímpica, and is the only green urban area of considerable size in this area. It was originally built as a baroque military camp strongly influented by French design after Catalonia lost its power to Spain in the beginning of the 18th century. In order to obtain the necessary space for the fortress, a whole neighborhood was demolished, leaving 8000 Catalonians homeless. Hundreds of Catalonians had to work on the construction for several years, while the rest of the citizens of Barcelona paid for it through expensive taxes. The Ciutadella camp became the living symbol of the hate against the central Spanish government.


The Fortress from the early 18th century and the Cerdà city plan of 1859. Photos copied from google.

After the political climate changed in the mid-19th century, most of the fortress was demolished, which gained a lot of political popularity for the city authorities. In the Cerdá plan, adopted eleven years later in 1859, the Ciutadella Park does not exist. Instead the Eixample neighborhood was planned on the site of the fortress with the Avinguda Meridiana diagonal connecting the city to the sea. Another 10 years later, when the political temperature had cooled significantly, it was decided to hand over the site to the city. This resulted in the construction of the park, designed by architect Josep Fontsére in 1872.


The Parliament of Catalonia

A few of the original buildings from the fortress was prevented, and now houses the Catalan Parliament and a secondary school in addition to the church. In 1888, the park experienced yet another transformation when the Universal Exhibition was held there. New sculptures and art pieces was added to the existing layout, and the area partly was transformed to house the buildings of the exhibition.
For the Universal Exhibition, the Arc de Triomf was built as a gateway to the exhibition site. The Neo-Moorish design added yet another style to the park.


Students of architecture in front of Arc de Triomf and the Ciutadella entrance


La Cascada waterfall

The Cascada was first inaugurated in 1881, but was redesigned for the World Exhibition after massive critics from the press. It was drawn by the architect of the park, Josep Fontsére, with some contribution from the, at the time, unknown student of architecture, Antoni Gaudí. It is claimed that Fontsére was inspired by the Trevi Fountain in Rome.



After the Universal Exhibition, The Barcelona Zoo moved into the available buildings
which still can be seen for the cost of the entrance tickets.
On the picture are the monkey cages, built closer up to date.


All these changes of plans and transformations described, led to incompatible city structures. The result, which still is a problem today, is that the park functions more like a barrier than a connection. The Avinguda Meridiana, which Cerdà planned as a connection to the sea, collides with the park fence, and the Zoo, which moved into the available buildings after the exhibition, holds up a considerable area of the park and closes two of the sides with a great wall. Even the train station, Etación de Francia, suffers from the lack of communication where Avinguda Meridiana was supposed to unite.



Enric Batlle draws the map of how the diagonals from
Cerdà’s city plan from 1859 collide with Fontesére's park design from 1872.


The entrance from Born and Arc de Triomf makes good connections as it is. It is the eastern and northern sides that suffer in lack of communication. Barcelona used to have an industrial port, but did a considerable job of opening the city to the sea in the occasion of the city renewal before the Olympic Games in 1992. This barrier was probably not a problem before the city renewal, but as the city changes, it is important that the structure follows up to have a well functioning float of communication and connection. Barcelona is known as a city that has renewed itself due to the need of transformation. As the city now faces the sea and the new Vila Olimpica district, it is important for the structure that these are connected to the rest of the city to make it functional.

On the other hand, the Barcelona Zoo brings identity to both the Ciutadella Park and the city as well. It holds one of the most substantial collections of animals in Europe, and its location and historical value also matters in being a zoo not just like any other. The question however, is if the importance of this institution surpasses the importance of having a functional city and making historical monuments available for the public without any ticket fee (as the buildings from the Universal Exhibition). In addition, animal protectors claim that the recent site is not suitable for the animal's welfare, and that the zoo will have to expand or move to another site to keep up with ethic and legal norms for animal keeping.



At the lake you can rent a boat or just feed the birds.
There are even tropical fishes and turtles living in the water

The park is much visited by the inhabitants of Barcelona as well as the tourists. As the inhabitants use the park for leisure, sports, walks, social arrangements and arrangements of fetivities for the city, the tourists often visits the park to experience it's rich history and identity keeper of the city. Even though many tourists are drawn to the park because of the zoo, I believe that the diversity of the park manages to survive, and even be strengthened, without it. To either open up the zoo for the public to allow trespassing, or to remove it completely, will give the Ciutadella Park a strengthened position both as a public space and an important communication sore for the city, connecting Ciutat Vella with the sea and Vila Olimpica for pedestrians. Removing the zoo would also give space to new possible public services, which is in the plan for the future of the park. In 2012 they will start building the largest library in Spain in the park, with focus on both strengthening the communication to the park and the diversity of public service.



Under the roof of the botanical garden, you han enjoy the shade on warm summer days


The new sports resort

The park allready functions as a diverse space of different public services in addition to the parliament, the church, walk paths, the zoo, the sculptures, artworks and the lake. Parc de la Ciutadella also holds The Museum of Geology and The Museum of Zoology. As the new plan of Ciutadella claims to improve public services, a new sport resort is already built on site, offering among other things both indoor and outdoor swimming pool and a sports resort.


Oslo seen from the Ekeberg Hill. Photo copied from google

Oslo is a city famous for all the parks, and is also one of the reasons why it's called "the green city". As the national park surrounding the city is used frequently for hiking and skiing, the parks are used for leisure, playing, dog walking and not to mention parting. It's even become a problem for the city that often thousands of young people gather in the parks in the spring- and summer evenings, barbequing and drinking beer like old Vikings. Even though it's a nice gathering for us youngsters, it's not very appreciated by the neighbors and kids wanting to play in the playgrounds.



My friends from architecture school in Oslo are enjoying the first day in the park after the final crit at school

There is also an old medieval fortress in Oslo, Akershus Fortress, transformed into a public space. Most of the fortress is prevented, and tourists can enjoy guided tours in the old buildings which is said to house old ghosts. It was built to protect the city, but has also functioned like a prison, just like the Ciutadella fortress. In contrast, the area still functions as a military area with offices and institutions for the army. The the Norwegian Armed Forces museum and the Norwegian Resistance museum can be visited there, and The Norwegian Ministry of Defence and Defence Staff Norway (armed forces headquarters) have a joint modern headquarters in the eastern part of Akershus Fortress. In the summer there are often arranged outdoor music festivals there.



Akershus Fortress seen from the fjord. Photo copied from google

Even though the Fortress is located in the heart of Oslo, right by the fjord and connected both to the City Hall Square, the downtown and the opera, it is still poorly visited by the inhabitants compared to all the other parks in Oslo. The whole district "Kvadraturet" suffers from the high presence of military institutions and lack of housing. This leaves the district dead after office hour, and opens up for shady activities like drug dealing and prostitution at night. This however, is about to change, with the ongoing transformation of the sea front. The past few years, the district have slowly awakened, but there will still be many years before this beautiful historical park can be connected with the urban flow in Oslo.

Photos taken by me unless other claimed.