GCI Places

Curated collection · Architecture & design

Poblenou After the Factories

Barcelona's industrial district has been rebuilt twice: first as factories, then as the 22@ technology quarter. These four places show what was kept and what was replaced.

Assembled and reviewed by Global City Intelligence on 2026-09-07. The order below is a suggested route, not a ranking.

The route

  1. Museu Can Framis

    Sant Marti

    An eighteenth-century textile factory converted to a gallery with its old walls left visible.

  2. Disseny Hub Barcelona

    Sant Marti

    The city's design collections in a building cantilevered over a sunken plaza.

    Photograph of Disseny Hub Barcelona in Barcelona
    Disseny Hub Barcelona, Museu del Disseny de Barcelon. Zarateman · CC0-1.0

  3. Parc del Centre del Poblenou

    Sant Marti

    A Jean Nouvel park that deliberately turns its back on the avenues around it.

    Photograph of Parc del Centre del Poblenou in Barcelona
    Parc del Centre del Poblenou, Barcelona. Canaan · CC-BY-SA-3.0

  4. Parc de Diagonal Mar

    Sant Marti

    A Miralles park nearer the sea, built on the same wave of regeneration.

    Photograph of Parc de Diagonal Mar in Barcelona
    Parc de Diagonal Mar, Barcelona. Canaan · CC-BY-SA-3.0

4 of 4 places shown on the map. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.