The Terrat Viu (Living Rooftop) at the Museu de Ciències Naturals takes up half of the overall rooftop area of 14,000 square metres. The space, which is reopening again and can be visited with the general museum admission, includes the Mesocosmos experimental area, the first research project to be located on the rooftop. This is one of the winning projects in the research and innovation subsidy call promoted by Barcelona City Council and the Fundació “la Caixa” and is made up of small structures in the shape of a hexagonal dome, open at the top and allowing for a 2 degree increase in the inside temperature without isolating the ecosystem from the natural surroundings, to see the effects of climate change on the vegetation there.

Another new feature on the new rooftop is the “Mediterraneans of the World” garden, inspired by the Jardí Botànic de Barcelona and displaying Mediterranean flora from the five regions of the planet that share this climate: besides the Mediterranean, the climate its typical in some regions of Chile, Australia, California and South Africa.

The rest of the rooftop features Mediterranean meadows and five ponds, dating back to before the reopening, and a new insect hotel has been installed there. The existing biodiversity has been used and 1,500 bushes have been planted, many of them producing honey. As for the ponds, two came after a greening up project with the intention of favouring the biodiversity of flora and fauna. In addition, insect hotels and honey producing plants, which attract pollinator insects, help to conserve bees and solitary wasps, essential for maintaining the balance of natural ecosystems.

Conceived and executed in 2004 as a large extension of water, the rooftop was turned into a green rooftop between 2018 and 2020. The Living Terrace, which has been closed to the public to rethink its installations, is open at weekends and on public holidays from 11 am to 3pm and offers free admission on Sundays from 4 pm to 8 pm.