The extension of the fira de barcelona in montjuïc is planned half inside and half outside Barcelona’s municipal term, at the back of the Montjuïc hill, following the Gran Via avenue straight to L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
Japanese architect Toyo Ito won the competition for the masterplan of the project.
The exposition center will be composed of 9 pavilions and two 114-meter towers, which will be used for hotels and offices. The two towers will be the highest buildings in Hospitalet. The hotel will also be the second highest hotel in the Barcelona metropolitan area.
The buildings feature energy saving devises, a water recovery system waste and the use of solar energy. Each building has a symbolic organic shape, which should bring to mind elements found in nature such as rivers and clouds. Natural light, well-conceived interior illumination and an adequate, functional organization, accessible to the different areas of the grounds, all dominate this design. The towers (and the whole project) are due to be finished in 2009 and are conceived as a landmark, one (a curvilinear red tower, the hotel) being the counterpart of the other (red, organic tower, placed inside a translucid prism, for offices).
