The Santa Caterina market was built between 1844 and 1848 on the site of an old convent which gave it its name. The history of the market begins with the demolition of the convent, as the City Council allocated the land for the construction of a market. It has the honour of being the oldest covered market in the city.
The Santa Caterina market was completely renovated between 1997 and 2005 under the orders of the architects Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliague. Ten years on, Tagliabue recalls “The project was the urban transformation which I’ve experienced most closely. The market was completely interior. We opened up part of the neighbourhood and at the same time we opened the neighbourhood up to the city and gave it more profile”.
The renovation went further than simply refurbishing and conserving the market. Its modernisation was a clear move towards renewing its surroundings. The idea was to recuperate the colour and vitality of old public squares.
A singular roof to reproduce the colours of fruit and vegetables
The most emblematic feature of the project is a colourful roof in a mosaic pattern inspired by Gaudís trencadis technique, made up of 325,000 fragments and which according to Benedetta Tagliabue, “wants to reproduce the colours of the fruit and vegetable stalls”.
The interior layout is also unique as the walkways make up an original and irregular space which is conducive to shopping. “From one stall you can get thinking what you’ll buy at the next one, as they’re not located one after another in a line but in a curved form to allow broader visibility”, explains the architect.