No other site quite immediately epitomizes the relationship of contemporary Barcelona to its history as Placa Nova in the Gothic Quarter. Being physically immersed in Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella for a semester, the density and intensity of the diverse activity and physical archetypes of the urban fabric leaves one urning for a space that’s structure invites one to meander freely and purposefully.

A Roman aqueduct, built millennia ago and used for centuries more, rests on site, embedded in a now-exposed partition-wall, awaiting vindication. The aqueduct ruins represent an incredible opportunity to actively explore history and archaeology through design.

To celebrate this monumental artifact, Mirrored Grounds aims to give the site structure by expanding on the geometry of the aqueduct’s arcades, both as they exist in ruin and as they would have as part of the greater life-giving machine upon which Roman Barcelona so depended. Using the location of the 4 existing arcades as a reference, the design extracts the sculptural arcade walls across the site to provide both structure and fluidity. 

The most appropriate description of the site design typology  overall would be waterscape. The design intent was to parallel the aqueduct’s previous path with a monumental water feature to metaphorically represent its purpose. The features form is fluid and tapering, drawing visitors through the site. It crescendos mid-site, and tapers at the plaza spaces where complementary elements take precedent.

Water is a critical component of public spaces in multiple dimensions; it serves as a point of interaction, as well as a means of reflection. The main feature is meant to provide a kind of play space that rejects the confinements of age or ability. The feature’s edges slope at a barely perceptible exchange, and the water level, though designed to fluctuate depending on usage, remains shallow across all intervals (no deeper the 6 cm at it’s lowest point). 

This kind of dynamic and explorative experience being created by the water feature and the arcades also translates below grade into the gallery space. Light and sound filter through notions of the same geometries, and circulation follows the same energy.