Parc del Fòrum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parc del Fòrum | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Parc del Fòrum seen from the Mediterranean Sea. | |
 | |
| Type | Public park |
| Location | Barcelona, Spain |
| Coordinates | 41°24′40.75″N 2°13′28.57″E / 41.4113194°N 2.2246028°E |
| Area | 14 acres (5.7 ha) |
| Created | 2004 |
| Operated by | Ajuntament de Barcelona |
| Public transit access |   at El Maresme – Fòrum |
| Website | www |
Parc del Fòrum (Catalan for Forum Park) is a public park located between the district of Sant Martí in Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs. It was built in 2004 following Elías Torres' and José Antonio Martínez Lapeñas's original design in order to hold the international cultural event Fòrum Universal de les Cultures, celebrated in 2004. It is operated by Ajuntament de Barcelona and Barcelona Serveis Municipals.
The Parc del Fòrum hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures held in Barcelona during 2004. The event, devised by the then-mayor of the city Joan Clos, raised a strong controversy in the city due to alleged plots of urban speculation, which never came to be demonstrated. The event allowed new urban changes in the city: the entire Besós area was recovered, until then populated by old disused factories, the entire Poblenou neighborhood was regenerated and the new Diagonal Mar neighborhood was built, while it was equipped the city of new parks and spaces for the leisure of citizens. The site was designed by Elías Torres and José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, which highlights a multipurpose esplanade of 16 has culminated at one end by a large solar panel, which It became one of the emblems of the event and gives electric energy to 140 families nowadays.
The main construction was the Forum building (2000-2004), by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron -current headquarters of the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona and the Forum Auditorium-, with a triangular low profile with a distribution of several interior courtyards that generate open spaces, and a rough-looking facade of indigo blue, furrowed by various strips of glass. Next to this building was the International Convention Center of Barcelona (2000-2004), by Josep Lluís Mateo, with a metal layout structure irregular and undulating shapes that hide the supporting elements, generating large open spaces of flexible arrangement inside.
