Major redevelopment nears completion

Barcelona's historic bull-ring has been in disuse since 1990 due to the declining popularity of bull fighting in Catalonia. London based Richard Rogers Partnership was commisioned to re-develop the ring into a major mixed use complex. One aspect of the intervention is the ‘dish’. A remarkably shallow dome roof that floats only ten metres over the bullring .The height was fixed to reduce the visual impact of the roof from a nearby historical fountain. The entire roof sits on a three metre high ‘skirt’ to overcome the possibility of unusable low space at the perimeter of the dome. The skirt is comprised of 20 boomerang-shaped columns. The building structure will offer a high degree of flexibility to encourage a wide variety of activities to take place. The main activities will include a series of commercial, entertainment, health and leisure spaces focused around a central event space, including multiplex cinemas