Olympic Village
The neighborhood that began as a residence for athletes
A residence for athletes during the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, the neighborhood is a symbol of the regeneration of the urban coastline and former industrial land. The Olympic Village was created out of the need to build a residential space for the athletes of Barcelona '92, but it went beyond that: the urban renovation gifted the city not only with a modern residential area but also with new beaches, spacious green areas, and public facilities.
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From industrial zone to sports and maritime district
The Olympic Village was built on an old, deteriorated industrial area in Poblenou. The project's main goal was to construct a residential neighborhood for the athletes participating in the 1992 Olympic Games while also recovering Barcelona's coastal front and creating recreational and green spaces.
Thanks to its wide streets, parks, and proximity to the beach, the Olympic Village neighborhood is one of the best places to practice sports—and not just water sports. It is common to see residents cycling, jogging, or skating.
Although some chimneys still remind us of the neighborhood's industrial past, the landscape is now dominated by the Mapfre and Hotel Arts towers, along with the sports and leisure area of the Olympic Port.
The overall design was developed by a team of architects mainly composed of Oriol Bohigas, Josep Martorell, David Mackay, and Albert Puigdomènech, who led an extensive urban operation that resulted in the Olympic Port and park, the Nova Icària beach, and an entire neighborhood designed to be spacious, open to the sea, and full of green spaces.
Pompeu Fabra University also has a campus in the area, housed in the renovated facilities of former military barracks. The university library occupies the unique Water Deposit building, which previously supplied water to the nearby Ciutadella Park fountain.
How to get to the Olympic Village?
From the Port Olímpic - Zoo stop on the Red Route of the Barcelona Bus Turístic, you can explore the Olympic Village neighborhood.
For the curious
- The Olympic Village adheres to the originally planned density in the Cerdà Plan for the Eixample, which was not upheld elsewhere in the Eixample district.
- The initial project envisioned the construction of four skyscrapers, but according to coastal regulations, only two could be built.
