New leisure complex Les Arenes
Barcelona, Spain
106,250 m2
Built area
6
Number of plants
Mall
Building type
The Les Arenes development transformed Barcelona’s former bullring into a new retail and leisure destination, combining heritage preservation with a highly complex structural intervention on a 12,500 m² site.
Designed by Richard Rogers and Alonso Balaguer Arquitectos Asociados, the project retained the original Neo-Mudéjar façade, extending for 300 linear metres, which remained suspended through a specialised stabilisation system while five underground levels were excavated to a depth of 20 m.
The works were carried out using a top-down construction method, enabling the simultaneous execution of the basement levels and the new reinforced concrete central structure. Above the main volume, a large circular platform known as the “Dish” was constructed, becoming one of the project’s most distinctive architectural elements.
The development is crowned by a laminated timber dome supported by perimeter boomerang-shaped columns, creating a landmark commercial and public space that combines heritage rehabilitation, structural innovation and contemporary architecture. The project further demonstrates Dragados’ expertise in complex building refurbishment and large-scale urban regeneration schemes.
Project data
Project data
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12,500 m² plot
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Renovation of the historic Las Arenas bullring
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Preservation of 300 linear metres of Neo-Mudejar façade
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Excavation of 5 basement levels down to a depth of 20 m
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Top-down/bottom-up construction system
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8,000 m² “Dish” platform
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100 m diameter upper platform
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4 double-trunk V-shaped tree-like supports
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2,200 m² laminated timber dome
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77 m roof diameter
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8 m structural rise
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Façade underpinning using micropiles and arch beams
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