Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Las Arenas Mall

We finally got around to visiting Las Arenas, the former bullring turned shopping mall.  I expected, well, a bullring, cleaned and scrubbed, stores added, etc.  Las Arenas is not that.

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It's at Placa Espanya, a very busy section of the city.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BpOVEARWZE

 

Like so many things in Barcelona, it's an unlikely mix of old and new.  The entire bullring was raised one level, and a huge, modern, upscale mall built under, over, and inside the space.

 

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Here you can see the support for the bullring, which is now mainly a facade.

Inside, the old bullring is barely visible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3rKl-FtQ4o

 

I never did get a good count of how many floors there are.  At least 6.

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There are escalators all the way to the roof observation deck.

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Great views of the city from this altitude.

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This is part of the infrastructure of the mall, with a permanent fixed crane, and what looks like the hvac system.

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All parts of the building are served by emergency staircases.

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I was very impressed by the engineering, which is all visible and makes the entire structure look like an immense modern sculpture.

 

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One last pic from the observation deck.  I felt like a voyeur taking it, but at the top is a penthouse apartment not far from Las Arenas.

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I especially like the infinity pool that fades into the skyline of Barcelona.

I'd like to try being rich for awhile.  Looks like fun.