A silent witness of the past

In Barcelona there is an established modernist route, which tourists and visitors do not want to miss. Buildings that are World Heritage Sites, others somewhat humbler. Some more central, others further away. Some signed by renowned architects, others by disciples who also have their place in the architecture books. There is something for everyone and in the city there are dozens of them. Then there are others that keep silent and go unnoticed not only by visitors, but also by people who live in the city. Only local residents are really proud of having a jewel in their neighbourhood. 

On Avenida de Vilanova, not far from the Arco de Triunfo, an iconic monument that was once the gateway to the enclosure for the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona in 1888, you will find one of these "small" treasures. The incredible old thermal power plant in the centre of the city, more than a hundred years old, converted into the main headquarters of Endesa in Catalonia. Where they used to produce kilowatts, it is now a state-of-the-art work centre for digitalisation. The iconic chimney that once featured in the city's skyline is no longer there. Energy transition started here before the concept was invented.

The old turbine room remains intact, but without the machines. There are some elements such as the bridge crane and its bright red hook, the spiral staircases and the control panel that have been preserved just as they were. In the huge nave, 755 m², there is nothing, and it is used to host internal and external events. There are enormous windows that let in huge amounts of daylight. They are decorated with iron components that used to mitigate the vibrations caused by the activity of the machinery. And above everything, presiding over the room, a clock stopped in time, which indicated to the workers what time it was. The time shown is five to nine, we do not know if that is am or pm. And we do not know when it stopped. Urban legend quietly tells us that it was during a bombing raid in the Civil War. There are no witnesses. It was never repaired. It is a silent witness of the past. 

This iconic building, designed by Pere Falqués, municipal architect (1889-1914), author, for example, of the iconic bench-lamppost in the bourgeois Passeig de Gràcia, is now synonymous with the present and the future. Here, looking out from the fourth floor, is the control centre for Catalonia's electricity grid, and where more than one million operations are undertaken each year. It also acts as a test bed for projects that will revolutionise cities and make them smart. There is no turning back for innovation and the automation of infrastructures, and the traditional electricity grid will mutate into the grid of the future, becoming increasingly resilient and flexible. 

Employees no longer come in through the old round door which has been permanently closed and located in a privileged corner of the building. At the top of the façade, stamped in green ceramic on a yellow background, you can see the date when the entire complex came into service: 1897. In its day, they even built houses for those working in the plant right next to it. Now they are offices, refurbished and opened in 2012, and designed with the chromatic range of the modernist wing. They have been declared an Asset of Local Cultural Interest, so the new part appears to be conversing with the old. Because of the translucent floors it included, it is also the only building in the Eixample district of Barcelona where you can see through from one street to another.

What used to be the Hydroelectric Power Plant of Catalonia (already a part of Endesa for decades) can be proud of having bequeathed a building that combines beauty and functionality, symbol and history of the electrification of both a city and a country. The story of a transformation that looks to the past to honour those who came before us, and who with their hard work, their dedication and also their struggle, and to those in the present whose design and support represent the immediate future.

Oriol Osan Tort

Communication and Media Relations Manager in Catalonia