Just about every building in Barcelona has a courtyard of some sort. Whether it’s the splendid centerpiece of an important public building or the utilitarian lightwell of an ordinary building, courtyards of all shapes, sizes, materials and uses abound in this city. Some are verdant gardens while others are hard-paved. They might be open to the public or have access that is restricted. Some are centuries old while others are contemporary. What is certain is that, in a city in which party walls are the most common separators between buildings, courtyards become all the more important. They establish identity and, at the same time, provide some light, air, and space.
The courtyard is often part of an entry sequence into a building: first you enter a portal from the street, pass through an opening in the building, walk through a passageway, and then enter the courtyard, where there might then be multiple entrances to indoor spaces.
The courtyard is often associated with the very identity of an important public building. Both the Palau de la Generalitat (the seat of the government of Catalunya) as well as the Ajuntament (city hall) of Barcelona are located on Plaça Sant Jaume, an urban square that has its roots in the ancient Roman Forum of Barcino. The facades of either of these buildings are nothing to sneeze at, but the genuine splendor lies in-behind, in their respective courtyards, both of which feature Catalan Gothic porticoes.
But there are also modernist courtyards. The Barcelona Pavilion of 1929, MIes van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, has two courtyards, one that is completely enclosed and another that is semi-enclosed. The Anti-Tuberculosis Clinic of the early 1930s by the GATCPAC is articulated by a semi-enclosed courtyard, while their Casa Bloc is articulated around two such spaces.
The only building type that doesn’t lend itself well to courtyards is the high-rise. Barcelona may be the only city that has a high-rise building with a courtyard: the Hotel Renaissance Fira by Jean Nouvel, a 29 story structure with a semi-enclosed courtyard at its core.
Criticalista 