In 2019, Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) awarded the architecture firm Feu i Godoy Arquitectes the drafting of a new Master Plan for the infrastructures and services of Park Güell. This Plan sets out the general guidelines and intervention proposals aimed at improving the park’s infrastructures, with the goal of preserving its heritage value, optimizing its efficiency, and facilitating future management.
The project represents a strategic commitment to sustainability, conservation, and modernization of an iconic space in the city. In doing so, it reinforces Park Güell’s position as an international benchmark in heritage management and technical innovation.
The first phase consists of preparing the Master Plan, which will guide all future actions related to infrastructures and services. The document is based on a comprehensive diagnostic methodology combining: on-site surveys, historical research of the site and its installations, formulation of hypotheses based on previous research into how the infrastructures might have been conceived according to the original ideas of Eusebi Güell and Antoni Gaudí, cross-referencing observational and historical data with the proposed hypotheses, and a final proposal of actions.
To draft the plan, the genesis of Park Güell was studied, beginning with Eusebi Güell’s commission to Antoni Gaudí in 1899 to transform an irregularly sloped estate into a “garden city” intended for Barcelona’s upper class. It is emphasized that Gaudí designed viaducts, stairways, and colonnades while respecting the natural terrain’s morphology. Originally conceived as a private residential development, the project was transformed into a public park after its commercial failure in 1914, becoming over time a heritage landmark.
The Master Plan also analyzes the evolution of water supply in Barcelona — from medieval irrigation channels and the Collserola mines to the large 19th-century conduits — to show how Güell acquired strategically located estates to ensure a safer and more potable water supply. From this historical rigor, the hypotheses are formulated that define the criteria for action on the park’s infrastructures and services, as well as the foundations and limits of the basic and executive project. This approach not only defines the guidelines for future interventions but, more importantly, allows for the deduction of the criteria Gaudí himself might have established if he were alive today. This exercise in the architect’s “mental scaling” facilitates the adaptation of the installations to current conditions while preserving the architectural and cultural heritage of Park Güell.
The second phase develops the basic and executive project for the infrastructures and services in accordance with the criteria established in the previous phase. The scope of action includes irrigation, sanitation, energy, telecommunications, lighting, and monitoring systems.
An active sanitation system is implemented using sustainable urban drainage techniques (SUDS) and real-time sensors to protect the heritage from potential flooding. Regarding irrigation, a complete renovation of the network is planned with smart scheduling systems, the reuse of historical cisterns (channeling rainwater and water from existing mines into the reservoirs built by Gaudí), and remote management to ensure efficient water usage. As for lighting, the plan includes replacing all luminaires with LED technology with centralized control, aiming to improve safety and reduce energy consumption.
In terms of energy generation, the Master Plan outlines two photovoltaic installation scenarios that could cover up to 194% of the park’s annual energy demand. It also includes landscape-integrated electric vehicle charging stations.
For security, the plan includes the installation of six new outdoor cameras at the most critical access points (Sant Josep entrance, Pòrtic de la Bugadera, stairs, and gardener’s house), maintaining consistency with existing cameras. The new panoramic cameras with built-in sensors, along with the replacement of some bullet-type cameras (long-range vision) with dome-type cameras (shorter range but greater precision), will allow for automated visitor counting and capacity control, enhancing safety and emergency response capacity.
To extract relevant data from the installations, a real-time monitoring and data analysis system based on machine learning (artificial intelligence) will be implemented. This will enable predictive rather than reactive maintenance and efficient management of the park’s resources.
To design a Wi-Fi access point network with optimal and homogeneous coverage that can support continuous communication between devices for infrastructure monitoring, a 5 GHz band signal study is also included, based on simulations that account for the site’s topography, vegetation, climate, and building morphology.
To summarise, all actions have been designed to ensure minimal intervention on the original elements, respecting Gaudí’s legacy and strictly complying with heritage protection regulations.
