The project for the refurbishment of L’illa Diagonal’s open spaces revisits the original project through a contemporary and respectful approach. The intervention introduces the Umbracle, improvements to the gardens, and interior updates that reinforce the project’s original principle: the permeability of the urban ensemble.

In 2018, L’illa Diagonal launched a competition to redesign and upgrade its shopping centre. The proposal was striking, since the building and public spaces—originally conceived by Rafael Moneo and Manuel de Solà-Morales—hold significant architectural value. Even so, the initiative reflected the ambition to renew the complex and adapt it to evolving social, technological, and environmental expectations, ensuring its relevance for future generations.

L’illa Diagonal is an extensive urban ensemble stretching more than 300 metres along Diagonal Avenue in Barcelona, widely recognised for its ability to generate city and activate the surrounding public realm. Despite its considerable volume, the project is carefully fragmented to respond to the different scales of the adjacent streets, while the permeability of the ground floor preserves a sense of openness, ensuring continuity with the urban fabric and reinforcing its role as a civic connector.

At Batlleiroig, we approached the proposal with a fundamental question: how can we intervene in an existing project while preserving its original identity and adapting it to new needs? With this premise, the design process began with a clear intention to respect and enhance the existing architecture, recovering and strengthening the project’s original ethos: permeability.

The refurbishment project seeks to restore this connectivity and to establish a stronger and more fluid connection between Diagonal Avenue, the shopping centre, and the block’s interior gardens, focusing on the “open” spaces — the Sant Joan de Déu Gardens; the interior spaces of the shopping centre, conceived as permeable circulation areas; and a new intermediate space, the Umbracle, which links and articulates the ensemble.

The Umbracle acts as a transitional threshold between L’illa and the gardens, located in an area that had become both a barrier and a back-of-house condition. Formed by a lightweight steel structure with timber slats and climbing vegetation, it provides shade for the south-facing curtain-wall façade, once protected by awnings. It reorganises the surrounding programme and establishes new connections, linking the three commercial levels with the exterior.

Beyond its shading function, the Umbracle contributes to the creation of a cooler microclimate, promotes vegetation, and incorporates rainwater management and reuse strategies within the garden area. Together, these actions reinforce the project’s urban vocation, generating a more comfortable, sustainable, and welcoming environment.

The renovation of the Sant Joan de Déu Gardens respects the original paths and existing vegetation while enhancing gathering areas and children’s play spaces. The design creates new shade, promotes biodiversity, and integrates Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) for efficient water management.

The garden design aims to foster social activity through well-equipped and functional spaces, creating four differentiated environments: a climbing area reaching the treetops, a relaxation area with diverse furniture, a water play area that doubles as an ice rink in winter, and finally, a dynamic zone with a swing and large slide, and an amphitheatre, establishing a new direct connection between the gardens and level -1 of the shopping centre.

Inside, the commercial areas were reinterpreted as extensions of the exterior. The main intervention focused on redefining the ceilings, which had continuously changed over time. The new “skies” give interiors the character of “open” spaces, improving orientation and enhancing the visibility of access points from the street.

The renovation of L’illa stands as an intervention that updates and revitalises the legacy of Moneo and Solà-Morales with a balance of respect and contemporary vision. Through this renewed approach, the complex recovers its original vitality while improving both its functional performance and environmental quality: strengthening connections, introducing accessible and generous public areas, and integrating nature as an essential element of the experience.

Overall, it looks toward the future without sacrificing the architectural essence that once made it a benchmark within Barcelona’s urban landscape, ensuring that it remains a meaningful and active part of the city’s collective identity.

Avenida Diagonal 557, 08029, Barcelona