BruumRuum! Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, New Barcelona lighting, Catalonia architecture

BruumRuum! Barcelona

New Catalonian Lighting design by David Torrents, artec3 with MBM architects, Spain

Design: David Torrents, artec3 with MBM, architects

Location: Glories Square – Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, Barcelona, Spain

BruumRuum!, Barcelona Lighting Design

Article by Milos Stipcic for e-architect

photo : Milos Stipcic

Dialog between public space, public art and people

11 Jun 2013

BruumRuum! Barcelona Lighting

photos : Milos Stipcic

The ongoing development to transform Glories square from a transportation hub into a social and economic center will advance significantly when the elevated junction is demolished by the end of 2013, and after results of the urban design competition are published by the beginning of the next year.

The project has transformed rapidly recently and several emblematic buildings have already been built like Agbar tower, Encants market and the new Design Museum. A few months ago the large public space around Design Museum was opened to the public: it consists of two plateaus.

photos : Milos Stipcic

One is the picturesque lower part with a sculpturally shaped fountain, stairs and platforms creating dynamic scenes with the building and opening new views to the existing Agbar tower, showing diversities in urban typology of this zone.

The upper platform – located near the main entrance and under the elevated junction during the day – seems pretty empty and vacant with a serpentine-shaped canopy which runs alongside the tram route bordering the public space.

photos : Milos Stipcic

During the night dramatic change happens. The whole upper square is actually integrated with the interactive light artwork BruumRuum!, which consists of pavement lights that change colour and shape initiated by the voices of the people via tubular ‘microphones’. It was made by Barcelona-based lighting design studio artec3.

Powerful urban images, people motion, noise and light mix together and interact with the square. Visitors will have an artistic experience as they step out of trams or the metro on their way to the new museum.

Still, an overall critique of the public space, unrelated to light artwork itself, is its size. Is it possible that after the whole 20th century, after so much practice, theory and tens of ‘–isms’ of architectural history, contemporary urbanism still has a problem with loss of human scale of public space? Having in mind that this is ongoing urban intervention and that urbanism requires at least 20 years to see its effects it is too early to make a judgment.

photos : Milos Stipcic

Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes Lighting – Information

Location: Barcelona, Glories Square
Building: Design museum and its surrounding public space
Architect: MBM
Artwork: BruumRuum!
Authors: David Torrents, artec3
Year: 2013

BruumRuum! Barcelona images / information received 110613

Nou Mercat dels Encants : main page on this building

photo © Rafael Vargas