Mercat de Santa Caterina

Mercat de Santa Caterina
1997-2004
Presented by Fernando Bales

Built on the site of a monastery believed to have begun in 1241, this market was a project taken on by the firm of Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue. The focus of the project was to rejuvenate the neighbourhood of Ciutat Vella. A site that had become too congested and in dire need of a renovation.
The market has three floors including loading docks underground and a organic waste depository for the Santa Caterina and La Ribera neighborhoods.
The waving roof becomes like upturned boats held up by massive steel beams that resemble tree like structures. The colorful rooftop was designed to give the future residents of the adjacent buildings something more than just another rooftop to look at.
The sensitivity that the Architects had towards not only their building but the affects that their Architecture would have on the citizens is something to be admired.