Plaça de la Gardunya has undergone a major revamp in recent years, with a transformation process which has steadily taken shape and was immortalised by the photographer and researcher Jorge Ribalta. That documentation process led to the 2019 exhibition ‘New Angels. Scenes of the Gardunya Square Development, Barcelona 2005-2018’, which was presented at La Virreina Centre de la Imatge.

The exhibition covered thirteen years of urban renewal work in the square, from the first demolitions to the arrival of the tenants for the protected housing built there, the shifting of parking below ground and the construction of the Escola Massana.

The result of the exhibition led local residents to organise themselves through the #veïnsgardunya platform and call for part of the photographic material to remain on permanent display in communal areas in the housing. The proposal was well received and has been extended not only to include the entrances to housing blocks but also the Mercat de la Boqueria and the Escola Massana.

An interactive journey through the memory of Plaça de la Gardunya

The monumental elements combine a decorative function with historical documentation, with a narrative thread explaining the history of the place. A series of QR codes have been installed around the friezes enabling people to access information, documents, monuments and ruins by accessing an interactive map showing the different aspects of the history of the square.

The monument now on public display may grow and be altered in the future, as the redevelopment of the square is still not complete. An entrance to the courtyard of the old hospital is still to be completed, as is the redevelopment of the Jardins del Doctor Fleming.