Mercato Metropolitano Barcelona
Date: 2024- Location: Barcelona, Spain Area: 4,750m2 Function: Food cultural complex Status: Ongoing Collaborator: _SaW_& Client: Mercato Metropolitano
PAN- PROJECTS, in collaboration with Mercato Metropolitano, is transforming the historic Anís del Mono distillery in Badalona, near Barcelona, into a new cultural destination centred on food and community. The project reinterprets this 19th-century site, characterised by its distinctive sawtooth roofscape and layered architectural history, as a contemporary food village where culinary culture and architecture intersect. Originally developed as an industrial complex along the Mediterranean coast, the distillery has evolved over two centuries into a dense assemblage of buildings and courtyards. The proposal builds on this accumulated character, working with its spatial complexity to establish a new cultural hub comprising a food court, market, academy, and museum. Together, these programmes position food as a catalyst for social exchange and a driver for urban regeneration.
Located along the Barcelona coastline, the Anís del Mono distillery retains a complex spatial composition dating back to the 19th century. Its network of courtyards and narrow passages evokes the atmosphere of a historic town. Working with this inherited fabric, PAN- PROJECTS and Mercato Metropolitano propose a new architectural vision that transforms the site into an active “food village,” where gastronomy, culture, and everyday life intersect. The project introduces a range of public programmes, including a food market, rooftop gardens, a museum, a food academy, and an event hall. A system of streets and squares accommodates street-food kiosks, workshops, and performance spaces, generating a continuous rhythm of use and activity. By naming routes and developing a distinctive paving language, the design establishes a legible, map-like identity that ties the site together. While preserving the material character and spatial depth of the distillery, the intervention builds on Mercato Metropolitano’s ethos of connecting people through food. The architectural approach balances the site’s industrial heritage with new social functions, creating a setting where history, community, and contemporary urban life coexist. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027.
