Ciutadella Park vs Montjuic


Ciutadella Park in Barcelona is a very meticulously thought out and well planned park located on the edge of the Gothic quarter of the city.  There is one very clear linear element that runs through the entire park and organizes the spaces around it.  In addition to this there are also seemingly random paths and spaces that branch off of the main straight, but even they have order.  The singular elements that are placed in the park are also all not placed without relevance. In other words each building, clearing, and plant has order. The landscape of the park begins to define the placement of the buildings and the movement of people. The words "form" and "order" come to mind.


Montjuic is the mountain on the southern end of Barcelona. Like Ciutadella, things seem to be planned out with a sense of order and form.  Unlike Ciutadella, however, the entire space is not planned out as one.  Instead, each element has its own form and order that doesn't seem to relate to the next.  The botanical gardens, for example, have a very random and jumbled feel to them, and yet somehow there is a very clear path that one with subconsciously follow form the beginning to the end.  On the other hand, the Olympic complex is very linear and direct.  In other words each building is strategically placed on an even grid, and the remaining space is filled with very planned, linear landscaping elements.  The castle slightly down the hill has the same, linear, planned feel.  Even thought these elements are all very planned out, they do not relate to each other as a whole, like Ciutadella Park does.


~Anthony A

Madrid vs. Barcelona - Theory Blog Post 2

Architecturally speaking, Barcelona and Madrid are two very different cities.  In Barcelona, the general layout of the city consists of a few very different zones, each with their own unique style of urban planning. For example, the Gothic quarter, the Eixample, and Gracia are three very different places with very different urban planning; however they all somehow come together in one way or another.  Each region also has its own unique style of building. In the Eixample, the buildings are relatively modern.  In the Gothic quarter, all of the buildings are old, and if they are new, they typically have original facades.  In Gracia, again, most of the buildings are old.  In Madrid I got the feeling that there wasn’t as much meticulous attention given to the city layout.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that the urban planning of Madrid is bad, it’s just different.  The older parts of the city don’t end up blending into the new parts of the city with respect to planning, however the buildings are mix and matched.  Throughout the city, there could be a classic building right next to a brand new building with a completely new style.  A perfect example of this is the Reina Sofia Art Museum. Most of the museum is a square, classical building with a typical inner courtyard, but the new addition by Jean Nouvel is as modern a building as any, and it shares no characteristics with the old building. Somehow it works, however.  In Barcelona, something like this would never fly.

~Anthony A