The hub will function as a space to drive the ecosystem and as an entrepreneurial and creation lab, connecting the stakeholders that make up this strategic sector in Barcelona.

The new facility has 3,400 square metres of space across three floors. The spaces have been designed to meet the needs of the four strategic areas of the project: promotion of talent and training; entrepreneurship and new business models; business competitiveness and innovation, and connection with the community.

The municipally owned building housing the BAC at C/ Asunción, 16, is an old industrial unit which has been renovated according to circular economy principles to focus on safe, healthy, recyclable and biodegradable materials. Notable features include the use of lights made with recycled plastic and printed in 3D, controlled by wi-fi, the installation of solar panelling to generate energy and volumetric sensors, plus a collection system for rainwater and condensation from the air-conditioning, and furniture made from materials from the old factory.

The transformation is based on a design by Gerard Torrent and Marta Camañes, from 4RQ Arquitectura, and Marta Badia, from Blossom, and the ConstruNext works team.

Economic activity hubs

Barcelona Circular is the second specific economic activity hub to be launched to speed up the growth of the city’s strategic sectors, after the Barcelona XRLAB, devoted to the creative industries. The initiative is part of the Barcelona Impulsa plan, the roadmap for the city’s economic diversification through to 2035. The process continues with the hub to drive the care in ageing economy, with the first stage of work already under way since September, and Barcelona Urban Innovation, now at the conceptualisation stage.