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Vila Olimpica is a private, mixed use development built
in conjunction with the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic
Games. The six acre site includes office, hotel, residential,
and retail spaces organized in a series of private terraces
connected to public walkways, courts and waterside esplanades.
It was developed as part of the city of Barcelona's
comprehensive plan to rebuild its infrastructure and
open space system through reclamation of abandoned and
obsolete industrial sites adjacent to the city's waterfront.
The design concept treats the building complex as a
landform analagous to that of the Catalan coastal formations
of layered and uplifted rock. Indigenous plants (or
their analogs) are used and reference to traditional
art is made in painting and tilework, creating an ensemble
that refers to the regional landscape and cultural traditions.
The use of metaphor helped establish a rationale for
site design that nevertheless allowed the flexibility
to address site constraints such as severe windborne
pollution and the totally artificial site of roof decks
and urban fill.
The entire project was designed on an extraordinarily
tight schedule - from design to completion in 18 months.
Olin Partnership coordinated design and planting schedules
with construction to ensure anticipated completion dates
would be met. |
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