en.Wedoany.com Reported - Casa de les Altures will become one of the key landmarks of Barcelona 2026, Capital Mundial de la Arquitectura, with its cultural program bringing exhibitions, routes, workshops, and debates to the Horta-Guinardó district throughout June. This unique building, located in the highlands of the district, visually approaches the neomudéjar tradition, but its history is directly linked to the city's water supply infrastructure. It was commissioned by Belgian engineer Nicolàs Recúlez Chevalier, general manager of the Sociedad de Aguas, and named after the pump installed next to it to boost water pressure from the Dosrius supply network.
The building features a clear geometric plan, a rectangular-based parallelepiped organized around a central courtyard, with a porch-like volume attached to the south facade. The courtyard is a free space surrounded by arcades supported by slender columns, while the ground floor houses daytime activity areas such as the dining room, living room, and library, and the attic contains the boiler room, laundry, and storage. According to the Catàleg de Patrimoni Arquitectònic de l’Ajuntament de Barcelona, the architectural treatment incorporates Orientalist style, evident in the rich decoration of floors, ceilings, paneling, and wrought iron railings.
Horta-Guinardó is one of Barcelona's most complex districts, with a fragmented and undulating terrain due to small hills and proximity to the Sierra de Collserola, contrasting with the orderly grid of the Eixample. This irregular topography has created a more organic neighborhood, bringing together popular architecture, 20th-century housing, large facilities, green spaces, and remnants of infrastructure. The June program explores the district from various perspectives, with themes including landscape, the memory of water, housing, facilities, public space, and recent urban transformations.
Throughout June, Casa de les Altures will serve as one of the main venues of the World Capital of Architecture in the district. According to the district's municipal calendar, it will host the traveling exhibition "From Medianeras to Facades: A Legacy for the City" (De medianeras a fachadas. Un legado para la ciudad), on display from June 15 to July 13, focusing on the often-forgotten medianera elements of the urban landscape. On June 29, the building will host the discussion "Architecture Dialogues: Facilities and Characteristic Spaces – Dismantling the Guinardó Ring Road Viaduct," addressing the transformation of transport infrastructure and its impact on community life. Additionally, the building will serve as the meeting point for the "Feminist Routes and Cartographies Between the Urban and the Urbanistic" (Recorridos y cartografías feministas entre lo urbano y lo urbanístico) activity on June 14.
Barcelona 2026, Capital Mundial de la Arquitectura, is an initiative jointly promoted by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA), named after Barcelona's designation as the host city for the UIA World Congress of Architects. The congress will take place from June 28 to July 2, 2026, in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, positioning the city as a global hub for debate on architecture, territory, sustainability, housing, public space, and ways of living.
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