El passat mes de març, Pb2 va tenir l’oportunitat de participar en la novena conferència sobre mercats que l’organització Project for Public Spaces (PPS) amb seu a Nova York, va organitzar a Barcelona.

Josep Llobet Bach com a ponent, i Lluís Garcia com a amfitrió d’un dels tours de visita de mercats que es van organitzar, van formar part de l’esdeveniment d’una manera activa.

Com a breu resum, i agraïment als participants, vam enviar-los un document sobre la nostra experiència, que volem compartir també aquí, per si fos d’interès.

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Dear all,

It has been three weeks since we all meet in Barcelona for the 9th Public Markets Conference and as we are sure you all would agree with us, it was a great success.

Apart from thanking PPS for hosting their conference in our sunny and beautiful city, we would like to thank you all for being part of it, for participating in it in any form, and for enjoying it as much as we did.

As speakers (Josep Llobet Bach), we had the opportunity to share with all of you our particular view of our Markets and the commercial strategy we do follow to refurbish them. We know each market is different and we wanted to show how we have approached different works, depending on all factors that surrounded the market. As we said, like in chess, all pieces have a role, and all of them are important.

As we explained, the Sabadell Central Market refurbishment wanted to reactivate the area through the communication of two levels: the ground existing market, refurbished, and the new commercial offer on the ground floor (a supermarket and a restaurant), through a central core of ramps. They connected also the building with the underground parking lot. The project received the Best Retail Market in Spain Award in 2004, given by MERCASA.

Sabadell Central Market

As part of the team that went in Tour #1 on the Market Tours (Lluís Garcia Amorós), we were able to show you one of our most important refurbishments: Llibertat Market, re-opened in 2009. As it is located on one of the classic Barcelona neighbourhoods, with a huge pedestrian area around it and with an important sense of community, we tried to use the building as an engine of urban and commercial transformation, being able to connect again with the commercial structure of the surroundings.

Llibertat Market (Barcelona)

Regarding the architectural field, the refurbishment also preserved the historical building, restoring it but also maintaining the traditional market uses and adapting them to new needs, adding other commercial uses. This project was given the 2012 Gold Award of the World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) and received the Diploma of Excellence of the European Institute of Public Administration.

Moreover, those who went on Tour #2 were able to visit our most recent market refurbishment: the Sants Market, which re-opened in 2014. Our work wants to preserve the uniqueness of the existing building, by maintaining volumes, facades and its structural elements and ornaments, but redesigning completely its internal functionality.

Regarding the commercial, we improved the competitiveness and attractiveness of the building by reorganizing the retail space by a new distribution of stalls and the incorporation of a supermarket, and two basement floors to accommodate spaces destined to merchandise management and parking facilities for shopkeepers, customers and neighbours.

As a forward step in our works, we were interested also in adapting the building to be self-sufficient, but not just regarding electricity, but also water and rubbish management. The Sants Market incorporated insulation in walls, roofs and window’s glasses to provide proper indoor thermal conditions. The criteria for maximum energy efficiency extends to other facilities, such as indoor lighting; sensors on water supply; flow regulators on taps and dual flush mechanism on toilets, among others.

Apart from this, we applied a new method for air conditioning system. It is able to capture water from the subsoil (at approximated 19ºC) to supply the heat pump and the equipment of air conditioners inside the building by using it to heat or cool air depending on the needs of each season. This air conditioning system represents a substantial energy saving.

Sants Market (Barcelona)

We hope you enjoyed as much as us of the Conference, and do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further information we can provide, or check our web page www.pb2.info for more details about our works.

Thank you all for visiting us in Barcelona!

Josep Llobet-Bach i Lluís Garcia