The expansion of the MACBA with 2,110 square meters will be a reality in January 2027

The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, presented this Monday the reform project for Plaça dels Àngels that will incorporate new equipment, new public uses and end the "monopoly" of skaters. The new square will have the new Raval Nord Primary Care Center in the building of the Capella de la Misericòrdia and the extension of the MACBA, which are facing the final procedures for the start of works this 2024. The new building of the MACBA at Convent dels Àngels will have 2,110 square meters of new rooms and 349 square meters in the viewpoint and is expected to be a reality in January 2027.

In an appearance at the Saló de Cent of the Barcelona City Council, Collboni explained that he will transform Plaça dels Àngels to turn it into a space with new citizen uses in the Ciutat Vella district.

Thus, the new square will no longer be "hard" and will take advantage of imminent new uses. The remodeling of the square pivots on the reformulation of the plinth of the current building that houses the MACBA, the work of the architect Richard Maier. The 1,105 square meter space, currently occupied by skateboarders and a venue for bottle parties on weekends, will be rethought to incorporate more greenery and lounge areas. The public space will include a new lookout terrace in the new MACBA space, which will be open to public use.

Collboni explained that with the reformulation of public spaces, the aim is to adapt hard squares to a city that has to face climate change and requires more green spaces, shadows and water use. Regarding the presence of skaters, the mayor assured that the square will have a plurality of uses and that no one will be able to have the "monopoly" of the future space.

After the last impediments in the financing of the expansion of the MACBA have already been resolved, the Barcelona City Council plans to complete the planning process for the expansion of the MACBA, with the approval of the necessary Special Integral and Urban Improvement Plan. With this procedure, works could be tendered in June and construction of the new spaces could begin in November of this year. The operation will have an investment of 16.26 million euros.

As for the new Raval Nord Primary Care Centre, the tender is about to start. The space will have 2,500 square meters and an investment of 13 million euros. The health facility is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2026. The new head will have to serve a reference population of 22,500 inhabitants, taking into account the current and future population.

The council plans to make the reform of the square a reality in 2027.