CCIB, Josep Lluís Mateo. MAP Architects

The CCIB is one of the main structures housing the 2004 Forum of Cultures (Barcelona) and one of the anchors of the new Diagonal Mar district. It is not properly a building, but a set of objects with different functions, clients and programs, united by a set of predefined bands that channel this plurality: A hotel and office building rise on the northern edge; large exhibition and convention halls are located in the central strip; and public lobbies, restaurants and small conference halls face the sea and the gardens to the south. A combination of massive concrete and high-precision, large-span steel, the structure is simultaneously conventional and monstruous, banal and superhuman. With an introduction by Aaron Betsky, this book tells the story of the CCIB through the voices of the architects, engineers, clients, consultants and artists that have contributed to their its making.