Camp del Ferro is a new sports center located in Barcelona. The project was co-designed by a team consisting of AIA Activitats Arquitectòniques, Barceló-Balanzó Arquitectes, and Gustau Gili Galfetti. This short film by Simón García presents the main ideas behind the conceptual design.
Description provided by the project team. The project by architects Albert Salazar Junyent and Joan Carles Navarro (partners at AIA), Antoni Barceló and Bárbara Balanzó (members of the Catalan firm Barceló-Balanzó arquitectes), and architect Gustau Gili Galfetti for the construction of the Camp del Ferro municipal facility in the La Sagrera neighborhood of Barcelona won first prize in the public competition called by BIMSA in 2015. With an area of 7,237 square meters, construction began in 2017, and the recently inaugurated facility now provides the Sant Andreu district with three sports courts, as well as a public space that improves accessibility and connection to the new infrastructure.
Given the large volume required by Camp del Ferro's extensive functional program, coupled with the limited size of the site and the density of the surrounding buildings, the design team, after weighing the pros and cons, chose to partially submerge a significant portion of the sports complex. This approach, resolved through sectional strategies, ensured good natural light, ventilation, and comfortable access and evacuation for the lower areas. This design decision has also yielded significant benefits for the facility, the neighborhood, and the city. Beyond reducing the visual impact, it has generated a public space that acts as an urban foyer for the complex, facilitating pedestrian circulation. This essential open area comfortably resolves access and the site's complex urban fabric.
