June 6: Vila Olímpica

The following weekend, the class went on a bike trip northeast along the shore to the adjacent city Badalona and back. Ever since I became aware of the existence of Badalona, the similarity of the names "Barcelona" and "Badalona" has bemused me.

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We gathered in the Plaça Sant Jaume to procure our rental bikes.

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A rather alpine cloud deck over the Plaça.

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On the edge of Barceloneta, at the corner of the Passeig de Joan Borbó and Carrer l'Almirall Cervera, is the Instituto Social de la Marina, designed by Josep Antoni Coderch in 1951, which contains a rather fascinating interplay between interior floor plan and exterior.

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Further up the shore is the Vila Olímpica del Poblenou, which was redeveloped in the years around 1990 in preparation for the 1992 Summer Olympics.

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On Avinguda Icària, running parallel to the shore but separated from it by one block, is a vast array of Pergolas designed by Enric Miralles and his architectural partner and wife at the time, Carme Pinos, during the same time the rest of the Vila Olímpica was being developed. And now: free association.

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This tableau deconstructs the iconic American backyard, with pieces of grills and Adirondack chairs scattered as if frozen in time just after being swept up by a tornado. (Gull photobomb!)

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Here is evoked the inversion of a Gothic cathedral, where the lines of the stained glass windows migrate in from the periphery and fill the interior space.

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Lowing dragons.

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A dinosaur parade.

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Sky scoop.