Correa, Federico

Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert

T H E  OLYMPIC R I N G  
THE OLYMPIC RING, THE COMPLEX OF BUILDINGS WHERE THE 
MAIN SPORTS EVENTS OF THE 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES WILL BE 
HELD, IS LOCATED NEAR THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN OF 
MONTJUIC, WITH AN OUTSTANDING VIEW, SURROUNDED BY 
PARKLAND AND LOOKING OUT OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN. (:'-) 
FEDERICO CORREA A R C H l T E C T  
(") REPRODUCED BY KlND PERMISSION OF "BARCELONA. METROPOLlS MEDITERRANIA" 

by parkland, on a flat piece of ground 
looking out over the Mediterranean. 
The Mountain of Montjuic, of strategic im- 
portance in the history of Barcelona, is 
mainly taken up by parkland and is almost 
completely surrounded by the city. 
The castle that stands at the peak is a relic 
from earlier times, when it formed part of 
the city's defences, watching over the 
port. The current project for the Ring is the 
result of a restricted contest held in 1983, 
to which were invited, as well as my own 
team (Correa, Mila, Margarit and Buxa- 
dé), Coderch, Sainz de Oíza and Moneo 
and Bofill, from Spain, and Stirling, Iso- 
zaki, Gregotti and Weidel, from England, 
Japan, ltaly and Germany, respectively. 
In January 1984, the competition judges 
announced their decision in our favour 
and decided to entrust the principal 
buildings to the architects lsozaki (Sports 
Palace), Bofill (Physical Education Institute) 
and Gregotti in collaboration with my 
own group (Olympic Stadium). 
Architecturally, the Olympic Ring project 
is intended to gather together the histori- 
cal threads of other proiects for Montjuic, 
in particular that of Puig i Cadafalch. The 
architecture of the great Avinguda Maria 
Cristina belongs to the "Noucentista" 
style, characteristic of the period in which 
it was built. 
The park's second main thoroughfare, 
where the Olympic Ring will be located, is 
situated on a hill and dominated by the 
Stadium Building. This stretch, at a tangent 
to the Avinguda de Montjuic, slopes down 
for 600 metres, from a height of 98 me- 
tres above sea level, where the Stadium is, 
to the present, more recent plaga de la 
Hidraulica, at 76 metres above sea level. 
During the 1929 Exhibition, it was partly 
taken up by a series of Pavilions and a 
garden, now demolished. The garden was 
designed by Rubió, and consisted of 
terraces which he himself described as a 
cascade of flowers. Strange as it may 
seem, neither the Pavilions nor the garden 
were aligned with the Stadium facade 
corresponding to the arrangement by 
Puig i Cadafalch, mentioned above. The 
neglect of the area after the demolition 
of the Pavilions, which left no more than 
a square hole, now used as modest 
sports fields, and the disappearance of 
the cascade of flowers, of which only the 
double row of trees that bordered it 
survive (unfortunately not aligned with 
the Stadium facade), added to the 
process of degradation and the hill's 
southern face was used as a tip for burn- 
ing rubbish. 
To the east, the area is crowned by the 
bulk of the Stadium, and as one goes 
down, a wooded hillock forms the 
northern limit and a drop in the terrain al- 
lows a view to the horizon in the south. 
This lack of symmetry as regards the 
central avenue was accentuated by 
Domenech Roure, who built an Olympic 
tower on the left-hand-side of the Stadium 
facade but not on the right. 
There is therefore a second, transverse 
slope which is steeper than the other and 
has been a vital factor in the development 
of the area. 
The northern hill, with its mantle of trees, 
separates the area from the Avinguda de 
Montjuic, the mountain's main thor- 
oughfare. The avenue allows access via 
four successive openings which makes for 
very fluid traffic over the whole moun- 
tain. 
It is in fact the traffic which has dictated 
the size of the Olympic Ring. As well as 
the Avinguda Montjuic, which borders it 
to the north, there will be a road built 
around the southern end. This will actas a 
service road during the Games, for use by 
athletes, organizers and authorities, and 
will remain as a dividing line between the 
Ring and the future Parc del Migdia. 
lnside the Ring, the Olympic Esplanade 
drops down along the longitudinal axis of 
the facade and terrace, with three main 
levels that allow access to the Ring's struc- 
tures, backing on to the Esplanade and- 
looking out over the parkland that 
surrounds them to the south. 
The Esplanade is dominated by the Olym- 
pic Stadium, whose exterior appearance, 
now felt to be possessed by the spirit of 
Barcelona's history, is left intact, whereas 
the interior is being totally rebuilt to satisfy 
the needs of the modern Olympics and 
considerably increase its seating capacity. 
Each of the three principal levels forms a 
square, with openings off above and 
below. 
The Stadium, which opens directly on to 
the Avinguda de Montiuic, is ringed by a 
broad thoroughfare, which widens con- 
siderably towards the east, where there 
is an access area for spectators. In fu- 
ture, after the Olympic Games, it will be 
used as a car park when the building is 
in use. 
The second level forms another square, 
bordered above and below by cascades 
and steps, and containing a central lawn 
with a pond. This square is to be the site of 
a Monolith to commemorate the Olympic 
Games -a 1 50-metre-high cylindrical 
structure of reinforced concrete, situated 
at the southern end, above the wood. The 
entrance to the Olympic pool will be 
reached from this square, via a monumen- 
tal archway situated at the northern end. 
The third and final circular level, sepa- 
rated from the second by a great 
wateríall and ornate steps, will form the 
lower limit of the Olympic Esplanade, and 
will be the main access to the area for 
pedestrians, allowing visitors to walk 
through the park from the Avinguda de 
Maria Cristina and from the main entran- 
ce in the Pla~a drEspanya. 
The centre of the square is a circular lawn 
surrounding the central pond, also circu- 
lar. From this square, through another mo- 
numental archway, one comes to the Na- 
tional lnstitute for Physical Education. 
Finally, a curved staircase leads down 
along the perimeter to the Pau Negre 
Hockey Stadium, situated among trees to 
the South, and to the adjacent lndoor 
Hockey Pavilion. 
A ramp which runs along the Esplanade's 
northern edge from east to west will be 
kept for the handicapped and for 
emergency vehicles. 
Between the hillock and the avenue there 
is the Olympic Pool, to the west, and the 
acclimatization garden, to the east. This 
garden will be redesigned. The segment 
of the Avinguda de Montiuic which runs 
around the Ring will be distinguished by 
a long row of flagpoles and the flags of 
the countries taking part in the Games. 
This section stretches from the first trans- 
verse access to the last, next to the Sta- 
dium. 
Halfway along, and in front of the flags, 
will be a monumental archway where the 
opening ceremony will take place. 
The illumination will be provided mainly 
by specially designed lights, in the form of 
1 4-metre-high translucent conical towers, 
similar to the ones which used to stand in 
the Avinguda Maria Cristina. The mo- 
numental arches have their own lighting, 
which will also help light up the Espla- 
nade. These lights, like the other elements, 
will alternate from side to side, so that 
while they will be on the left in the circular 
square, they will be on the right in the 
next, etc. The overall lighting will 
therefore contribute to the general com- 
position. 
In the square outside the Sports Pala- 
ce, the place of the ornamental arch 
will be taken by a huge luminous sculpture 
by the Japanese sculptress Aiko Miya- 
waki. 
In the square containing the Olympic Mo- 
nolith, where the transverse axis it domi- 
nates meets the retairing wall, below the 
Swimming Pool, there will be a proiecting 
fountain designed by the artist Sergi Agui- 
lar. Finally, in the centre of the pond in the 
circular square, there will be a sculpture 
by Xavier Corberó. • 


The Olympic Ring

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