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Urbidermis joins Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana to enrich the communal spaces of its three flagship sites: the former offices of the Gustavo Gili publishing house, the Three Chimneys and the Casa Gomis.
The story of the biennial
Manifesta has held its fifteenth and biggest ever edition in Barcelona and eleven other cities in the metropolitan region. The European Nomadic Biennial advocates art as a driver of transformation in the face of today’s urban, environmental and political challenges. With an emphasis on decentralising culturing offerings, it promotes a democratic model of collective empowerment, bringing together art, culture and society.
The biennial creates synergies between historically isolated communities and is organised in three thematic and geographical clusters -Balancing Conflicts, Cure and Care, and Imagining Futures.
Urbidermis and Manifesta 15
With its commitment to respectful and engaging urban regeneration, Urbidermis joins Manifesta 15 to enrich the communal spaces of its three flagship sites: the former offices of the Gustavo Gili publishing house, the Three Chimneys and the Casa Gomis. Combinations of benches, tables and armchairs are used to enhance wellbeing for visitors, providing places to rest, exchange opinions and sit back to contemplate the venues.
The Three Chimneys
Built in the seventies, The Three Chimneys in Sant Adrià del Besòs are a monumental symbol of a recent industrial past. Today, they serve as the core venue for the cluster Imagining Futures. This brutalist industrial facility used to form part of a thermal power station, and has been a landmark on the Catalan coastline for decades. After years of disuse, it now opens to the public as a symbol of urban and social transformation.
The Harpo chaise longues serve as an extension of the artistic intervention here and invite visitors to interact, play and move them as they see fit.
Gustavo Gili
The former Gustavo Gili publishing house, a model example of Catalan architecture from the 1950s, serves as the headquarters and nucleus of the biennial programme, with activities, talks and other events. The simplicity and functionality of the Rai bench blends naturally with its outdoor spaces, multiplying the possibilities for interaction and enjoying the open air in this icon of modernity.
Casa Gomis
Next to the La Ricarda wetlands in the Natural Spaces of the Llobregat Delta, the Casa Gomis is a rationalist villa built by the architect Antoni Bonet Castellana in the mid-20th century. The ideal ecosystem for hosting the Balancing Conflicts cluster, it underlines the importance of counterbalancing growth and conservation. In this context of transition between public and private space, the composition of Rai benches and tables fosters informal conversation and picnics beneath the canopy of a magnificent pine woodland.
Urbidermis actively takes part in the dialogue Manifesta 15 generates in its different venues. This is a valuable opportunity to create links and reflect on urban expansion and its relationship with social and environmental care.
Manifesta, like Urbidermis, seeks to improve the quality of the urban environment, rethinking the uses of public space as a key stage for community living.
Typology
Cultural
Date of execution
2024
Photography