Countdown to the expansion of La Maquinista. This long-gestating action, which came to confront the property, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), in court, with the Ada Colau City Council, which opposed the project approved in 2015, at the end of the mandate of the previous mayor, Xavier Trias, and which ended with an agreement in 2021, completes the last details before the start of the works. The first jobs, as company sources have told La Vanguardia, will begin in the second half of 2024.
The shopping centre, which bears the Westfield label in its name, the largest in Catalonia, will grow, although less than initially intended, and will have almost 600 homes on top. It will be the first shopping complex in Barcelona with a residential area. This duality of uses is common in other European cities, but in the Catalan capital there are only offices, as is the case at Westfield Glòries, also from URW, or L’Illa Diagonal.
While waiting for the Generalitat to give the final approval, which is expected to be imminent, to the new planning of La Maquinista, which has already received the municipal green light, and based on the already ready urban improvement plan, URW intends to apply for a license very soon of works to excavate the lot where the extension of the complex will be deployed. There is a surface parking lot on this land. If there are no setbacks, they say from the property, “these first works can begin in the middle or end of 2024”. And from this moment they will be developed for about three years, at most four, so that the intervention can be finished in 2027 or at the very latest in 2028.
The action, in which URW plans to invest 215 million euros – the calculation is for 2021 and will surely fall short – and which is being planned by the Batlleiroig architecture firm, requires time, because it involves fitting different pieces while maintaining at all times the normal activity of the shopping center and without having to demolish pre-existing buildings. The extension includes three new underground parking floors connected to the current ones, mostly for residents. Above it will be the extension of one of the levels of the current shopping area until reaching Ferran Junoy. This part adds up to 21,000 m2 of roof space and an additional 1,000 m2 for local shops with direct access from the street. Another floor of complementary economic activity is superimposed on it (5,000 m2 for offices, medical centers, co-working spaces, gyms…). And, finally, the housing blocks, grouped in three bodies, with the communal garden areas on the roofs of the additional uses area.
The residential complex will have up to 594 homes (47,500 m2 roof), 518 of which will be free market (41,500 m2), and 76, protected (6,000 m2). The planning envisages incorporating a plot of land on the next island from Ferran Junoy towards Baró de Viver – the Potosí sector –, owned by the municipality, to build 218 additional homes (17,500 m2), all of them protected, which is why URW will provide financial resources. This promotion will have its own project.
The change will be seen from Ferran Junoy, where the large main facade of the extension of the complex with commercial floors and residential buildings will face. This street, without any kind of charm, more typical of an interurban area than of a city, is called to become an avenue with great activity. In addition, it will border the future linear park that will go all the way to Sagrera, which will cover the train tracks and connect the neighborhoods of Sant Andreu and Bon Pastor, which will give it more relevance.
The project that will be deployed is very different from that of 2015. Not only because of the distribution of uses – there will be more housing and half of the commercial meters that were expected to be gained will be given up -, but also because of the physical appearance that the whole will have . The most remarkable thing is that, instead of tall residential towers of up to 25 floors, more compact blocks of up to 17 floors will be built.
“We propose to integrate the expansion into an environment that will be very different from the current one, with the large park in front that will change the connectivity of the whole area”, explains Enric Batlle, founding partner of Batlleiroig. “We see this objective – he continues – in the evolution of the approach of the shopping center sector, which wants to get closer to the cities, to be part of them”. And this happens to bring together different uses and so that the residential has a relevant weight. URW advocates this mix also for store sales, as they will gain a good number of neighbors who will be potential preferred customers. It is also expected that the establishments that will be located on the street, smaller than those in the shopping center and that will be able to have their own opening hours, will bring more neighborhood character to the area. In any case, it is emphasized from this multinational that is developing similar projects in London and Hamburg, “it is about adapting to the environment, making pieces of the city” and, they emphasize, “also applying new management models, incorporating other economic activities and residential assets”.
The blocks of flats will stand out for the stepped terraces at different levels and the outdoor vegetation that will cover a large part of the facades. On the side facing the shopping center there will be community areas, accessible only to residents, where greenery will also predominate, with spaces for gardens, orchards, swimming pools… The buildings will have community generation and consumption systems of energy and utilization of rain and gray water. The use of wood in part of the construction is also being studied. All are elements that respond to the sustainability strategy that URW applies to new projects.
The integration of the residential area into the Westfield La Maquinista complex is one of the challenges Batlleiroig is working on. Six accesses to the residential properties by Ferran Junoy have been planned and a large portal from which you can access the shopping center and the level dedicated to complementary uses. There will also be a connection to the complex through an interior passage and through the two squares at each end of the street. This will change in its entirety. The distance to the road, of more than 20 meters, allows it to be turned into a parkway, the execution of which will be undertaken by URW based on the design of the same architectural office. It will have groups of trees, flowerbeds with vegetation, areas for staying, children’s games and bike paths.
