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So what do you think of the phallic-looking Torre Agbar design? “Interesting and strange,” you say.
Well if you like the tower’s quirky, modern design – by French architect Jean Nouvel – you might like his other work, the Parc del Centre de Poblenou.
Like Barcelona in all its “design-y” glory, this park doesn’t fail to make you “ooh” and “ahh” with all its modern cement and metal features.
The Parc de Poblenou was inaugurated in 2008 in the Poblenou neighborhood, an area formerly known for its dusty industrial factories. After the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Poblenou was revived with new restaurants, art galleries, and shops. Today, it’s becoming a mecca for families, startups, and artists.
The park itself has a futuristic feel. The chairs are metal and has a bit of a “cold” feeling.
The park was meant to bring the community together. However, I am perplexed by how people are supposed to communicate here. Observe:
Metal ball thingies. What ARE they?
Enough about the chairs and the metal.
The thing about this park is that it’s walled up and protected, so you don’t have 24-hour access to it. But the walls are covered in greenery, and there are several canopies along the walkways. It’s quite pretty and refreshing.
I do like the edgy pixelized look of this gate.
There’s an organic feel of the crawling plants and weeping willows to balance out all that metal.
I also found a great place to play hide and seek – the huts! (Or if you’re a teenager, do some rebellious stuff like drink and smoke weed. No wonder the park’s closed at night.)
From the outside, it looks like a fun little amusement park.
There’s also a gazebo-like structure surrounded by a small pond. Touching.
This industrial chimney was preserved and incorporated into the parks design. And it works.
It has a spiral, flower-lined walkway (which was being cleaned as I was taking photos!)
For the kids, it’s great because it’s got 4 (at least) different play areas. Some of them are all-in-one playgrounds, and others…
…are just sporadic play equipment in the middle of the gravel.
While there is very little grassy areas for you to sit around and chat (like you can at Parc Ciutadella), Parc Centre de Poblenou is still worth checking out for the architecture.
Have you been here? What did you think?