A Closer Look

Koolhaas claims that the Generic City is one without layers.  A city in which the old is forgotten and abandoned for the new.  A city in which the past is measured by this  “progressive forgetting.”

Barcelona, though moving closer towards Koolhaas' idea of a Generic City in its touristic branding and overflow of landmark architecture, is still able to retain its identity through its layers. 

These layers expose evidence of history, culture, and complexity that provide the uniqueness Barcelona thrives upon.  Layers can be seen not only through buildings and antiquities, but also through the life of different neighborhoods, and the generations of people that make up the city.

Without these visible layers and the care to expose them, however, Barcelona's glimpses of generic will take over the city.

The Generic City

“Throughout the history of humankind cities have grown through a process of consolidation. Changes are made on the spot. Things are improved. Cultures flourish, decay, revive, disappear...all on the same site. This is why archaeology is a profession of digging: it exposes layer after layer of civilization. The Generic City, is not improved but abandoned. The idea of layering, intensification, completion are alien to it: it has no layers. Its archaeology will therefore be the evidence of its progressive forgetting, the documentation of its evaporation.” _Rem Koolhaas, The Generic City

Layering of Buildings Over Time

Barcelona is a layering of buildings from every era and time in it's history. Especially in the old city, ones view can easily be confronted by early Roman ruins, Gothic churches, and Contemporary concrete apartment buildings all in one glance. 

Layering of Spaces

Barcelona provides a complex layering of spaces throughout the city- from old to new, built to un-built, and maintained to abandoned. (Photo by Nick Tedesco)

Layering of Facades and Landscape

The city of Barcelona is that of great urban density.  Façade after façade line the packed streets throughout the city. 

This façade (of the Endesa Pavillion in the Barceloneta) also provides a metaphor for the layering of Barcelona’s landscapes.  The city is defined by both the mountains and the sea, and although this façade calls the beach home, it mirrors the topography of the mountains.

Layering of Different Uses and Users of Public Space

The graffiti dedicated to the miner’s struggle elsewhere in Spain directly contrasts the carefree nature of this playing child.  One can imagine just a short while earlier this same plaza filled with angry protestors. (Photo by Elliott Lavi)

Layering of Different Generations

Barcelona is a city with an extremely diverse population.  From young to old, child to senior citizen, and student to worker- all of which utilize the same spaces of the city, without the least thought to their generational gap. (Photo by Alex Dimento)