BARCELONA MARKETS CELEBRATES THE START OF REMODELLING WORK ON VALL D’HEBRON MARKET, WITH RUBAU’S INVOLVEMENT

February, 2017

The opening ceremony took place on Saturday 11 February, at which the IMMB (Barcelona Municipal Markets Institute) celebrated the start of refurbishment work on Vall d’Hebron Market, located in the Teixonera neighbourhood of Horta-Guinardó district. The event, which was highly festive in tone, was accompanied by several workshops, entertainment, music and a snack provided free of charge for the public. Among the public officials who participated in the ceremony were Jaume Collboni, the second deputy mayor of Barcelona, Montserrat Ballarín, Councillor for Trade and Markets, and Mercedes Vidal, Councillor for the district where the market is located.

The contract for the works was awarded to the joint venture RUBAU-VOPI4-ARTICO in December last year, and amounted to more than 7 million euros. The works to be executed consist of refurbishing the existing structure to maintain part of the present market building, and fitting out a logistics area of approximately 1,500 m² for a new supermarket operator. The project will also be aimed at improving accessibility, parking conditions and vertical communication between the floors, ensuring a link between the parking and logistics areas. In aesthetic terms, the exterior image of the building will be improved, to make it more attractive and visible. The innovative uses to be made of urban facilities include an allotment to be located on the roof of the building.

The execution of the project itself will be an organisational challenge, since the work must be done entirely without affecting trade in the current market. To achieve this, transfers of material and changes of location within the market are planned at different phases in the project. This will enable business to continue while the work takes place, which will benefit both the stall owners, who will not lose any business, and the residents of the area, who will be able to continue shopping as usual.

This is the second major project that IMMB has entrusted to RUBAU, after the completion of the refurbishment of the historic Ninot Market in 2015. The importance of projects of this type for the city was underlined at the opening ceremony, when, in addition to their contribution to the quality of life of citizens across the entire Barcelona Markets network, the historical contribution that these buildings have made to the city was emphasised.