Historical evolution
Background
The concept of street furniture is relatively contemporary so it cannot be extrapolated to past times, times in which no special interest was placed in the common elements of citizen coexistence. Some "Fountain (architecture)" fountains remain from the medieval or modern era, which, although they were for public use, were of individual construction, so we cannot speak of a systematized project to regulate their use and distribution. Some examples are: the Santa Ana fountain, on Portal del Ángel avenue with Cucurulla (1356); that of San Justo, in the homonymous square (1367); that of Santa María, in the homonymous square (1403) and that of Puertaferrisa, in the homonymous street (1680).[54].
Another antecedent of the elements of the public sphere is the night lighting, which was carried out by means of sheds installed on public roads, with resinous wood fuel or tar. In 1599 Barcelona had 60 streetlights on its public roads, some of which are still preserved, such as those in the Plaza del Rey "Plaza del Rey (Barcelona)") or those in the church of Santa María del Mar.[55] Later they evolved into fuel oil lanterns, of which in 1752 there were 1,500 scattered around the city; Due to their cost, they were only lit on dark nights.[56].
Attention to urban elements began incipiently in the 19th century, a time when the urban environment began to be considered worthy of beautification and accommodation to the needs of the citizen, and the regulation of aspects such as sewerage and sanitation networks, or the separation between pedestrians and road traffic began.[57].
However, it was in the century when urban furniture was consolidated as an inherent part of any urban planning of the city and to be the object of design and special planning for its construction according to pre-established needs and a predetermined location. This was especially helped by factors such as the new industrial manufacturing processes that emerged at that time and the use of materials such as iron, which allowed for mass production and resulted in greater resistance and durability.[57].
During that century, the definitive separation of public roads between the road and sidewalk for pedestrians was established, which offered a perfect platform for the placement of a whole series of elements intended for the regulation of citizen activities and the accommodation of the space to the needs of the population. Among the first elements installed are the benches, of which the first public ones were stone ones installed on the Paseo de San Juan (1797), the General garden (1815) and various squares located on the lots left by convents burned or confiscated in 1835-1836; They were individualized fountains that were not yet built in series, as would later become common;[59] and the kiosks, whether they were for the sale of press, flowers, pets, lottery, drinks or other products - including occasional ones, such as those selling firecrackers for the San Juan festival, those selling ice cream in summer or those selling chestnuts in autumn -, of which the most paradigmatic are those located on the Rambla, which appeared in the middle of the century. .[60].
This emergence of urban elements was favored by the development of new technologies, such as gas lighting, initiated in 1842 by the Catalan Society for Gas Lighting, being the first Spanish city to use it. standing streetlights.[63] In 1880 electric lighting appeared, which gradually replaced gas lighting on public roads: in 1882 the first streetlights were placed in the Plaza de San Jaime, and between 1887 and 1888 the Rambla and Paseo de Colón "Paseo de Colón (Barcelona)") were electrified. For a time, between 1885 and 1912, oil, gas and electric lighting coexisted: in 1905 there were 711 oil streetlights, 13,378 gas and 228 electric; In 1913 oil disappeared, and in 1967 gas.[64] The generalization of electric light did not occur until the beginning of the century, with the invention of the light bulb, and was not completed until 1929.[65].
In Barcelona, as in the rest of Europe and unlike American cities, street furniture was exclusively controlled by the city council, which established careful regulations for its installation. The new urban products entered the market through catalogs or their dissemination in the international exhibitions that were usually held at that time, such as the one held in Barcelona itself in 1888 "Universal Exhibition of Barcelona (1888)"). Companies such as the French Durenne or Val d'Osne, or the German Mannesmann, placed their products throughout Europe, and helped make street furniture an object of fashion and of both practical and aesthetic appreciation.[57].
The introduction of street furniture in Barcelona was favored by Ildefonso Cerdá, who in his Expansion Plan already included many of these elements as integral parts of the urban fabric. This was surely influenced by his visit to Paris, where elements such as kiosks, clocks, fountains and other urban elements were common, and were the subject of special planning. The Parisian influence was predominant in this first stage of Barcelona street furniture, not only in terms of inspiration but also in terms of specific commissions from French companies, such as the Ville de Paris type street lamps ordered in 1866 from the Val d'Osne foundry, or the Montmartre type lantern wall lanterns, of which there are still several in the old town.[66].
Another pioneer in the introduction of street furniture was Josep Fontserè, author of the Ciudadela park project (1872), which included some innovative design elements, some of which were designed by his assistant, a young Antoni Gaudí who worked as a draftsman to pay for his studies. His work was also a fountain-lamppost-clock in the Borne market (1875), made of cast iron; It had a base with a fountain with pipes that came out of figures of swans, on which were four sculptures of Nereids that held gas lamps, with a clock on top. This design was very similar to the crowning of a monumental fountain designed by Gaudí for the Plaza de Cataluña as a career project for the 1876-1877 academic year at the Barcelona School of Architecture, which suggests that the authorship could be the architect from Reus, who at that time worked as a draftsman for Fontserè.[67].
From Gaudí himself, it is worth mentioning one of his first projects as soon as it was titled, the Girossi kiosks, a commission from a merchant that would have consisted of twenty kiosks spread throughout Barcelona, each of which would have included public toilets, a flower stand and some glass panels for advertising, as well as a clock, calendar, barometer and thermometer; However, it was never carried out.[68] Another unrealized project by Gaudí was that of electric lighting for the Sea Wall (1880), which would have consisted of eight large iron lampposts decorated with plant motifs, friezes, shields and names of battles and Catalan admirals.[69] Even so, the modernist architect made two models of lampposts that still remain: those of the Plaza Real "Lamplights of the Plaza Real (Barcelona)") (1878) and those of Pla de Palau (1889).[70].
On the other hand, in the field of design, it is worth highlighting the collection of drawings titled Encyclopedic-Picturesque Album of the Industrialists (1857), by Luis Rigalt, a compendium of drawings of various industrial designs made at the time in the fields of gardening, foundry, marble and stone work, cabinetmaking, jewelry, architecture and applied arts.[71].
Development and planning
Despite these early antecedents, urban furniture did not begin to be the subject of systematic planning until the appointment in 1871 of Antoni Rovira i Trias as head of Buildings and Ornamentation of the City Council. This architect was the first to put special effort into combining aesthetics and functionality for this type of urban decoration.[72] Until the year of his death, in 1889, he was responsible for a large number of products installed on public roads. Some of them were imported, generally from France: in 1876 he replaced the fountain in the Plaza Real with an ornamental fountain manufactured by the French company Durenne, the fountain of the Three Graces "Fountain of the Three Graces (Barcelona)"); metal with a circular body with capacity for six people, on which rose a hexagonal section intended for advertising, crowned by a small dome.[74] However, he also personally designed a large number of these elements: in 1875 he designed an iron and pallet table for the sale of flowers on the Rambla, where he also placed a wooden kiosk for drinks in 1877, the Canaletas kiosk;[72] in the same 1877 he designed a fountain for the Plaza de Jonqueres that later spread throughout the city, produced in series by La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima;[75] in 1882 he placed public urinals on the Paseo Nacional (current Paseo de Juan de Borbón), and the following year he designed another model of urinal inspired by a model from the New York company Mott Iron Works, which was distributed throughout the city;[76] between 1882 and 1886 he designed the railing on the retaining walls of the railway ditch on Aragón Street "Calle de Aragón (Barcelona)"), as well as the railings, stone benches, street lamps and iron jugs of the Paseo de Colón "Paseo de Colón (Barcelona)");[72] and in 1886 he was also in charge of the railings, ornamental jugs and finishing details of the Salón de San Juan (current Paseo de Lluís Companys).[72].
Rovira's successor was Pedro Falqués, who continued to beautify the city with original designs of great artistic value, in line with the modernist style in fashion at the time. Thus, in 1889 he designed a fountain-lamppost for Canaletas, at the beginning of the Rambla near the Plaza de Cataluña, which has become an icon of the city; The model was later extended to other places in the municipality.[77] Near the Canaletas fountain he installed a drinks kiosk in 1890, which replaced the wooden one in Rovira.[78] In 1893 he devised another fountain-lamppost for the Plaza de San Pedro, of Gothic inspiration.[79] In 1896 he designed a rest kiosk and car stop with a clock and public telephone, located on the corner of the Gran Via with Paseo de Gracia.[78] In 1905 he designed the lamppost benches on Paseo de Gracia, as well as the lampposts in Plaza del Cinco de Oros, which are today located on Avenida de Gaudí.[78].
During this period, numerous models of wall lanterns, column lanterns and chandeliers emerged, with various technologies that evolved from gas to electricity. Wall lanterns were available with lanterns (square or hexagonal) or with hanging globes (one, two or three); The streetlights could have a column and a lantern luminaire (circular, square or hexagonal), a globe or with a "lyre" type finish; and the candelabras could have from two to six lanterns, circular, hexagonal or lyre. There was also a model of a column lamp with a built-in mailbox, located on Vía Layetana and disappeared in 1913. Other models had supports for tram cables for a time.[80].
Maintenance and serial production
After the period of splendor of urban furniture led by Rovira and Falqués, the successive councils that governed the city did not place special interest in this area, beyond the maintenance of existing elements or their replacement with others of little creativity. Specific exceptions were the urbanization of Diagonal Avenue "Avenida Diagonal (Barcelona)") or the renewal of the urban landscape on the occasion of the 1929 International Exhibition.[78].
In the 1920s, several underground public toilets were installed, replacing the unhygienic Vespasian ones, such as those in the Plazas Cataluña, Urquinaona and Teatro. telephones.[85].
In 1928, in view of the celebration of the International Exposition, the first public litter bins were installed, the Tulipa model, formed by a metal cylinder with vertical bars that opened like a flower at the top. They were quite a novelty at the time, since awareness of street cleaning was not very developed at that time.[86] For the Exhibition, some provisional lanterns called "ballerinas" were also installed, located in the middle of the streets suspended from cables with tensioners placed from façade to façade. After the event they were removed, although in 1990 some were reinstalled on Tibidabo Avenue.[87].
It should be noted that in 1929 the first traffic lights were installed to regulate vehicle traffic: the first was located at the intersection of Balmes and Provenza streets "Calle de Provenza (Barcelona)"), and by the end of the year there were ten operating throughout the city, regulated by agents of the Urban Police. The Civil War brought about a halt in the installation of traffic lights, which was reactivated in the 1950s. In 1958 the first synchronization took place, on the Vía Layetana. In 1984, the Traffic Control Center was opened, which in 2004 controlled 1,500 traffic light crossings.[88].
In 1930, some curious benches designed by Félix de Azúa were installed on the Paseo de San Juan that contained books inside, the so-called "library benches", which had glass display cases on their central backrest, inside which they housed free reading books, dispensed by an official. After the Civil War the banks lost this function, and in the 1950s they disappeared in a reform of the promenade.[90].
During the Franco period, pragmatic and economic criteria predominated over aesthetic ones, together with the lack of coordination in the placement of these elements in the public space. which came out a vertical stream that fell on the same cup;[91] the second occurred between the years 1960 and 1970, made of conglomerate "Conglomerate (geology)") of pink color, with a circular base and a conical section shaft.[92].
During the 1950s and 1960s, the municipal architect Adolfo Florensa put special effort into the design of new pavements for various areas of the city, especially the Ciutat Vella district "District of Ciutat Vella (Barcelona)"). The result of this were the pavements of various emblematic places in the city: that of the Plaza de San Jaime (1953), made with dark basalt in combination with white limestone, which forms a framework of squares that inscribe a rectangle on the perimeter of the square;[93] that of the Plaza de Cataluña (1959), which with terrazzo slabs of different colors (white, maroon, green and cream) forms an oval drawing six trapezoids inside and a star or compass rose in the center;[94] and the pavement of the Rambla, made with vibrazo of undulating shapes (1968).[95].
Innovation and design
The situation changed with the arrival of democracy and the new socialist-type governments in the city, which opted for art and design as a sign of the city's identity. A campaign was then initiated both to recover the historical heritage and to install new elements in which design predominated as a defining factor of the new urban complements.[78] For this purpose, the Urban Elements Service was created in 1991, dependent on the Projects and Works area of Barcelona City Council, whose main objectives were to establish criteria for the selection, placement, standardization and renewal of urban elements with a clear commitment to design and modernity.[98] Three first guidelines were taken. main: recover the old designs originating from the 19th century, such as romantic benches, fountains and cast iron lamps; take the municipal initiative as the main promoter of urban projects; and designing specific urban furniture for each project, as another element of any urban intervention.[99] At the head of the new department was Màrius Quintana, responsible for the selection of urban furniture and its awarding through public competitions to new designs prepared by the most prestigious architects and designers. The urban projects of this period, according to Quintana, "meant an increase in the level of design and a commitment to modernity and innovation both in spaces and in urban furniture."[100].
A clear example was the award in 1986 of the new canopies (model Pal·li) for bus stops to the design carried out by Josep Lluís Canosa"), Elías Torres and José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, a practical but at the same time innovative, aesthetic and contemporary design. Shaped like a canopy "Palio (canopy)"), they are made up of a tubular steel structure with a yellow polyester roof and bench. With this model It also combined functionality with the economic aspect, since the incorporation of advertising – thanks to the idea of Jean-Claude Decaux – made it possible to pay for its maintenance, in a perfect marriage that was extended to other elements of the city.[78].
Since then, there have been many architects and designers who have created various models of urban furniture for the city: Jaume Bach and Gabriel Mora (Barcina planter, 1982);[101] Beth Galí (Lamparaalta lamppost, 1983, with Màrius Quintana);[102] Antoni Roselló") (Marítim model of ONCE kiosk, 1986) Jaume Artigues") ( *Levit * bank, 1989); (railing Línea, 1993);[111] Andreu Arriola and Carme Fiol (bench G, 1995;[112] fountain Sarastro, 1995);[113] Enric Pericas (Plataforma Bus, 1995);[114] Moisés Gallego") and Franc Fernández") (newsstand Condal, 1996);[115] Norman Foster (marquee Foster, 1998);[116] Elías Torres and José Antonio Martínez Lapeña (source Lama, 2004);[117] Terradas Arquitectes (tile , 2014);[118] etc.