Reactivation of Plaza del Carme

Shopping is an integral part of the street. Improving the vitality, comfort, and safety of the public space was done by fostering occupancy of closed shops and emphasizing relationships through the shop windows. That was the task developed on the street in the project, Good morning, Carme! (Olot, 2021). In a single year, 1000 m² of shops were opened and 120 m of façade were redesigned in a single square in the old town.

Changes in the consumption model have caused the centers of many cities to head into a sharp commercial decline. Based on the premise that the activity and character of the street depending on the façades and what happens behind them, the urban renewal of these spaces inevitably involved the mobilization of the bank of empty ground floor premises. The shop windows are where this relationship was established, with extensions into the outside with awnings and pedestal tables and into the inside with the products on display.

It was thus advisable to blur the borders between the public and the private, from a physical perspective and, especially, from a municipal management viewpoint. That was the starting point for the Good morning, Carme! the project, which united and went hand in hand with a collective hope: the revival of Plaça del Carme in the center of Olot. Traditional city planning was reconsidered, allocating 70% of the budget to the ground floors. The project also included the opening of the city's Art School and the remodeling of a warehouse for a consumer cooperative. It is a project of projects, involving 3 developers and 8 shopkeepers.

The approach was similar to acupuncture, as a catalog of actions that add complexity and depth to the relationships between the street and the ground floors. This catalog considered planting deciduous trees to complement the façades, the lighting of the street from the perimeter and from the insides, converting empty openings into alcoves to exhibit sculptures from the Art School, and overhauling shop windows to endow them with the most transparency possible and bring them into dialogue with the street.

During the nine months that work lasted, the 'Carme office' was set up in the square, where we cooked up ideas on how to reactivate the space. This was the meeting point between neighbors, shopkeepers, owners, and technicians, who also took on the roles of facilitators, managers, and mediators. Dividing the project into stages ensured we could adapt it to any new needs detected.

Architects In Charge: Eduard Callís, Guillem Moliner
Design Team: Clàudia Calvet, Xevi Rodeja
Visual Artist: Quim Domene
Structural Engineer: Miquel Capdevila
Installations: Elèctric Jomi, Montolivet Instal·lacions, Grau Sistemes Tèrmics
Lighting Consultants: Grupo Noria
Landscape Consultant: Xevi Pujol
Technical Consultants: Ajuntament d’Olot, Dinàmig y Sigma
Collaborators: Socias de l’Artiga, Museu de la Garrotxa, Concejo de barrio del Nucli Antic, Vecinos y comerciantes de la plaza, Salvi Capellà, Joan Mallart
Developer: Ajuntament d’Olot, L’Artiga Coop, Escola d’Art d’Olot
Civil Contractor: Construccions Pere Boada, Grederes 2.0, Trasplantaments Sant Iscle
Joinery: Plantalech, Serralleria Jordi Cullet
Carpentry: Fusteria Esfèric, Fusteria Esteve Baqué, Fusteria Jordi