Spanish Bull Market

Once one of Barcelona's main bullfighting arenas, Las Arenas it is now a huge shopping complex. A bullfighting ban was passed which now means that this building will no longer house the highly controversial Spanish bullfights anymore.

Both Las Arenas and La Monumental (the other major bullring in Barcelona) have been central to the history of bull fighting, but from January 2012 there will be no more of this sport in Catalonia, the North-Eastern region of Spain bordering France.

However, despite a sometimes typical Spanish desire to pull down old buildings to build new ones, this time this architectural gem in Barcelona has been converted to extend its lease of life. Once a buzzing bull ring, it is now one of the biggest shopping centres of Barcelona. The new Las Arenas was designed by Richard Rogers, and included a huge dome to cover the ring.



The architectural style, called neomudejar, is very typical of Spanish bull rings (as well as many railway stations and private houses from the turn of the 20th Century). The arches all the way around the building are reminiscent of Moorish archways found at Cordoba's famous Mezquita (Mosque), but more importantly is a great example of a typical neomudejar building: the brick made it cheap to make, and manual labour was also cheap. However, the effect created is something which has remained in many buildings over the whole of Spain.

Interestingly, this  project, which was slowly becoming infamous due to its economic setbacks and delays, has managed to preserve a great building as well as combining it with a new economic boost to the Catalonian capital. It opened in March 2011 and has since then proved to be a huge success with the public. It even has its own balcony all the way around the dome with great views of Barcelona, Tibidabo and the amazing National Art Museum of Catalonia. Here is a night view towards Plaza de Espanya (although a bit fuzzy):



I think that this renovation project has made Las Arenas one of the few shopping malls in the world where tourists come simply to admire the project and the views it now has to offer. And for free as well, as before you had to go to a bull fight to go in! Lets hope that the current crisis over here in Spain doesn't change that!

The renovation of the ring itself involved raising the whole structure about four metres off the ground. You can see in this picture how the whole ring seems to almost float over the ground, supported only by the red columns. One wonders whether they can take such a large weight, but obviously they can!