Cerdà
Ildefons Cerdá (1815 – 1876) has been called the father and leading theorist of modern urban planning. Liberty for the individual, a private sphere for the family, sunlight, air and natural lighting in homes, the same standard and array of services in all parts of the city and cogently worked-out flows were vital ingredients in the planning of the integrated city.
Cerdá, a structural engineer who devoted the whole of his life to urban planning in theory and practice, foresaw that ”the new civilisation” would be one of mobility and communication. These thoughts provided the starting points of his project for the expansion of Barcelona in 1859 and his general theory of urbanisation, published in 1863. The Barcelona plan and his theory are Cerdá’s two most important achievements.
This exhibition is based on new knowledge emerging following the rediscovery in the 1990s of several of Cerdá’s key theoretical works. It sets out to show that his works are not only historically interesting but are still relevant and pertinent to addressing serious and growing problems of expanding urban regions. The Eixample project endowed Barcelona with first-class urban qualities which remain valid to this day.