Merca Santa Caterina

> project : Mercat de Santa Caterina
> location: Barcelona
> client : Foment de Ciutat Vella
> architect : Benedetta Miralles Tagliabue
(Miralles Tagliabue EMBT)
> collaborators:PGI Group
> date: 1996> 2005
> area: 29596 m2

> materials: Steel, oak, ceramic tiles, concrete



In no place does the true 

Catalan dynamic of architecture 

firm Miralles Tagliabue work

better than in its home town 

of Barcelona. Nor could there 

be a healthier place to express

such an intrepid and exuberant 

flavour of urban architecture.

The dazzling roof of the Mercat 

Santa Caterina, undulating like 

a blanket hurled over the main

complex of the market, acts as 

a communal manifold, skilfully 

striking a magical balance

between the commercial 

function of the building, 

local produce, tourism and 

contemporary design. As organic 

as the highly polished produce 

sold within, the shape and vivid 

colours of the roof flag-up the 

importance of the building to 

onlookers, creating curiosity 

from far afield and assuring a

stream of visitors. It’s a simple 

philosophy, the multicoloured 

roof mosaic made up of 325,000

glazed ceramic tiles provides an 

exhilarating prospect, and like 

bees to honey, the onlookers

stream in. That may sound a 

little over-poetic for the dynamic 

of a market building, but in a

place like Barcelona, simple 

mediocrity just won’t cut it, the 

architectural magnetism of other

famous local edifices creates a 

competitive city-wide allure, and 

competition is fierce.