20 January 2010 was a good day for checking out some of the jewels Barcelona has hidden away. We began the warm yet cloudy day with an onsite class at the Pavello de la Republica in the Vallcarca neighborhood of Barcelona.
The pavilion was designed and constructed for the Paris 1937 exposition by the Spanish government during the civil war, trying to show Spain to the world. With Spain’s great think tank of architects, intellects, and artists known as GATEPAC working on the pavilion, it was considered a great success.Works of art were commissioned including Picasso and are now some of the most exclusive pieces of art out there. The pavilion in Barcelona is a duplicate (they are good at this in Barcelona, referring to the German Barcelona Pavilion) and has been turned into a library holding many of the works from both political sides of the civil war. A collection of history, the library draws big historians and everyday readers alike.
Following the Spanish Pavilion (and some fun with the matches sculpture next door), Nile and I decided to visit Placa España, a city center on the southwest side of Barcelona. As you exit the metro and unearth yourself, you are exposed to the MACBA and exhibition halls of the area.
MACBA is the palace on the Montjuic hill, and was the location of the 1929 World Exposition in Barcelona. We checked out a personal favorite when it comes to architecture by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
The Barcelona Pavilion, known to those here in Spain as the German Pavilion or Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, was cooler then ever, and to my surprise, quite a bit larger then I thought. Since the small charge of 2 euros kept us from going in, we chose to wait until the weather cooperated (at least with sun and blue skies). We then headed off to the Caixa Forum, across the street for the free exhibitions they have there, our original destination. The Caixa Forum is an old factory turned exhibition space that is, in my mind, the quintessential Spanish building – from materials to ornamentation.
» Pics from Pavilions and Museums
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