(BDT_09_031) Barcelona Botanical Institute

Description

The Barcelona Botanical Institute is prominently situated on the highest point of the new Botanical Garden on Mt. Montjuic – 150 m above sea level and far above the city of Barcelona, right on the Olympic Ring.

The long, linear volume cuts into the mountain and forms a conspicuous hinge between the horizontal contour line of the mountain and the sloping topography. It affords spectacular views of Barcelona and establishes a prominent landmark. Despite the reinforced concrete supports and cross walls that rhythmically structure the rigid volume, it appears as if floating above the terrain when seen from the south. This effect is intensified by the recessed ground floor and the change of material. The top floor seems to hang between the base rising from the slope and the protruding exposed concrete cross walls and supports. The in-situ concrete, poured with neat joints and smooth formwork, adds to the technically precise architecture that is based on one consistent modular grid. In conjunction with the restricted range of materials – Corten steel and glass – that was also used for most of the other buildings in the Botanical Garden, and were applied with great discipline and in equal sizes, the new building forms a pure and abstract image. Its elegance is underlined by the transparency of the ground floor and the floating transition between the building and the garden.

The sloped site enables the building to be organised around separate, but thematically linked functions with their own respective entrances – both from the street to the rear and the network of paths of the part of the garden dedicated to western Mediterranean and northern African vegetation.

Each level accommodates its own programme. The lowest level, which is fully recessed into the ground, sits in a concrete tank reinforced by massive cross walls and also forms the foundation of the building. Here, the large air-conditioning system, the switch room, and further secondary technical service rooms are located as well as the large herbarium, various preparation rooms, and the bibliographical archive of the institute containing card indexes of the collection, and conference rooms. These rooms receive daylight from above via narrow light wells.

The very humid climate of Barcelona makes the conservation of the extensive collection of pressed and dried plants particularly difficult. Inspired by the modern herbariums in Geneva and Berlin, a special 500 m² archive was constructed as a waterproof concrete tank in which room temperature and air humidity can be kept constant within small tolerances. The entire building is based on its modular 6 x 6 m grid.

The bays created by the structural cross walls can adapt to room conditions and lighting requirements of all sorts. Together the cross-walls, supports, and walls form a three-dimensional composite frame that provides the structural solution for the architectural idea of the detached volume floating above the slope.

The middle level with direct access from the path network of the Botanical Garden is exclusively reserved for public use. On this level, a multi-functional hall, a conference room with state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, the Salvador Museum, an exhibition area that can be subdivided, and a café-restaurant used by visitors and employees of the institute alike are situated.

Due to the sloping site the non-public top floor has its own entrance. Here, the scientists’ individual and group studies are located as well as the library, various linked laboratories, and the offices for the director, the retired professors, and the administration of the institute. This level affords extensive views over the generous gardens, the Olympic Ring, the city, and the far-away Serralada de Collserola.

The three functional areas herbarium, public zone, and research zone are linked by reinforcing cores that provide vertical access and support communication between the library, the Salvador collection, the café, the herbarium, and the work spaces on the different levels.