The local scene, a biological station

Barcelona's Mundet neighbourhood is known for large, enclosed urban structures. One open island remains, preserving its connection to Collserola Natural Park, which faces risks like climate crisis, invasive species, overpopulation… Anthropocene issues affecting the local ecosystem. A Faculty of Psychology dominates the island where all buildings are in use except an abandoned theatre enclosing a void within the forested landscape. The Neuroscience Institute at University needs to work with institutions like the Barcelona Zoo to carry out cognitive studies, particularly with animals, birds.

The proposal suggests using the theatre’s cadaver to address Anthropocene issues, with the local ecosystem and neuroscience as the new users. It creates space for birdlife conservation providing suitable research facilities, and incorporates a nature school. The existing monolithic volume with three internal voids is divided into three parts. The first strip is cleared and transformed into a porch, linking the three programmes and transitioning from exterior to interior. After clearance, parts of the structure will be emptied and completed with specific elements. To optimise the building, the bird conservation programme focuses on species that nest in cavities, addressing the lack of tree holes in young forests. The birdlife is placed between the building's core and exterior, within an inhabited skin. The theatre’s main void will be rethought, shifting from performing arts to the local scene. The building acts as a quarry, providing material to be transformed, adapting the skin to foster a dialogue between the interior and exterior and creating habitable horizontal planes. The existing floor slab is removed, returning the area to the forest, while a vertical ecosystem is added to nourish the environment and passively control the climate. Both neuroscience and educational programmes occupy part of the central body. These programmes are complemented by one lateral volume. Various observation ways are settled at a single level to enhance the learning experience. To preserve the inhabited skin, a mezzanine is added to the main body, housing human-scale spaces for cognitive observation linked to the birdlife activity. The institute is supported by additional spaces on the top level and underground. These three programmes form a unified mechanism within a single building.