In the context of the demolition of the TMDC complex, forty five degrees has conducted critical research to place this event within the broader framework of Barcelona’s urban planning, its recent transformations, and territorial impact. The study unfolds as a multi-scalar narrative presented in chapters through a series of podcasts offering a comprehensive understanding of the dimensions of this erasure process. This specific case is situated within the larger context of Barcelona’s ongoing ‘urban renewal,’ in this case, concerning the La Sagrera-Besós axis and the Sant Martí district, where TMDC is currently located.
Embedded within this cycle of “destruction-construction” are decisions regarding which functions the contemporary neoliberal city can or cannot accommodate, with productive spaces being among the most contested. This podcast series aims to raise awareness of the consequences of future urban transformations, including the preservation of productive uses within the city, the assessment of material cycles from source to final product, and urban development models that prioritize commons, communities, and the remembrance of previous urban traces.
Against Demolition is a podcast by forty five degrees.
Prototype: Pedro Pineda. Director and founder of TMDC. [EN]
Displacement and demolition in urban landscapes often result from complex processes that extend far beyond the specific site—in this case, TMDC. Diverse actors, including social, political, and economic interests, drive these transformations, which significantly impact material conditions across the territory. Pedro Pineda's testimony, which was directly affected, provides insights for bridging personal experiences with the material, economic, and structural dimensions.
Pedro established the workshop in San Martí, fully aware of the demolition plans. Since then, the team has been actively revalorizing the site by developing other fabrication means and dignifying craftsmanship. Through his vision to create a co-working space for material producers, Pedro has sparked a broader discussion around Production 4.0 models: why and how do productive spaces evolve within the confines of the city? TMDC does not only set an inspiring paradigm, foremost, serves as a space for collective action and transformation.
The workshop: Interviews with Mercè Fernández, Samuel Ramírez y Manuel Prados [ES]
This chapter presents a threefold conversation on the working cultures and crafts at TMDC, featuring Mercè, a furniture restorer; Manuel, a metalworker; and Samuel, an architect and metalworker. Their stories uncover the fundamental role of TMDC in transforming the crafts culture. By collectivizing machinery, resources, and knowledge, each project has experienced exponential growth—not only economically, but also in multidisciplinary training and the capacity to manage projects across various phases and scales. However, the demolition plans signify the loss of more than just their work infrastructure; they threaten the sustenance of their community, leaving them adrift to navigate a deeply unsettling process with no clear alternatives in sight.
Resources: Lídia Guitart. Manager of The Forestry Association of the Montnegre [ES]
One significant consequence of systematically pushing production systems away from urban centers is losing track of material cycles. When resources are mainly shipped overseas, the quality, quantities, and conditions of sourcing and processing become untraceable. This disconnection from the origin of materials is one of humanity´s most environmentally harmful patterns. Spaces such as TMDC—committed to rewiring this production breach—, play a crucial role in the current material crisis. They are important for preserving productive uses within the city, but also for raising awareness of the assessment of material cycles from origin to final product.
Singular Woods is an example of regenerative wood production, as their work sets an important precedent of how extracting raw materials from a landscape can coexist with forest regeneration. The Forestry Association of the Montnegre focuses on the revitalization of the forest, through practices that protect it from wildfires, plagues, and erosion. By doing so, they generate a valuable byproduct: regenerative wood. This wood enters the commercial cycle not without difficulty, finding a niche and competing with the mainstream production chains. In this episode, we interview Lidia Guitart to explore their values, organizational structures, the relevance of their model, and the hindrances they face in sustaining the project.
Industry: Salvador Clarós. Head of sectoral policies at the Industrial Sectoral Policy and Sustainability of CCOO of Catalonia. [ES]
When considering the potential development of the area of San Martí, it is central to look into the last structural transformations of the city for clues. Since the 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona has undergone significant expansion that could be labeled as “triangulations of strategic development.” This recurring pattern involves the creation of a system of poles and axes engulfing large areas of the city for future development. The first significant transformation started with the improvement of Barcelona´s coastal area and the establishment of the great axes of Diagonal Mar. Situated between the poles of Parc della Ciudadella, Glòries, and the Fòrum complex, lies the historic industrial neighborhood of Poble Nou.
The aftermath of this planning is the development of what is known today as the “Knowledge City 22@.” We interview Salvador Clarós, currently a technician and coordinator of industrial policies at the Union CCOO, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Industrial Pact. Salvador has been actively engaged in the revision and co-design of the 22@ plan since it was first published in 2002. His engagement in this process offers valuable insights into the intricacies of the last twenty years of negotiations, achievements, and learnings, carried along with the Neighborhood Association of Poble Nou, the Union, and the Urban Planning and Economic Councils of Barcelona Administration.
Economy: Álvaro Porro. Director of Social Economy and Cooperatives of Barcelona Activa [EN]
As real estate pressures rise in Barcelona due to heavy tourism and international speculation, the city council has consolidated several offices over the past decade to promote the sustainable growth of the economy. One such initiative is Barcelona Activa, a local development agency that has become a key instrument in designing and implementing employment policies aligned with citizens' priorities. Its mission is to foster quality employment, entrepreneurial initiatives, business competitiveness, and the diversification of the productive fabric, all while embracing the vision of a hybrid city. This forward-thinking planning looks at achieving a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable economic model that prioritizes cooperative structures over big corporations, drawing on the legacy of collectivism in Catalonia.
Bloc4BCN, the headquarters of Barcelona Activa and other cooperative startups, is an intriguing paradigm of urban renewal and a model for repurposing the city´s industrial heritage. Located in Can Batlló, a former textile factory that belongs to the industrial heritage catalog of Barcelona, and has undergone an experimental transformation plan since 2006. In 2011, neighborhood citizen initiatives, under the "Can Batlló és per al Barri" Platform [Can Batlló is for the neighborhood], reclaimed the use of the space. Today, the transformation has incorporated various hybrid uses, a public park, self-managed neighborhood spaces, and innovation centers supported by the Barcelona City Council making it a dynamic cooperative hub and a milestone for the collaborative urban development of the city.
City: Mauro Castro. Co-Director of the Economy and Commons Area IDRA Barcelona Urban Research Institute [EN]
The yet-to-be-developed urban fabric of San Martí is an industrial zone with remarkably low occupation and density, offering significant potential for future city expansion. In the face of the current climate crisis, re-densifying urban structures as an alternative to extensive growth has become an unavoidable necessity. The key question is how this neighborhood will develop, and what existing examples and tools provide alternatives to a market-driven model. In this context, Mauro Castro elaborates on the work of IDRA in promoting commons-oriented management of public assets. Over the past decade, Barcelona has introduced a series of mechanisms enabling public-commons partnerships helping establish robust governance structures in city-making processes.
Reflecting on the knowledge shared by Mauro in this podcast, we wonder if past learnings and experiments can catalyze the future of this area. From Can Batlló to 22@, can the future of Can Ricart, TMDC, or the Tres Xemeneies be collectively reimagined? In a territory in the process of consolidation, we pose this open-ended question in the hope of echoing and finding synergies that could weave the wounds and divisions of the city in a just manner.
Our research methods rely on experiential approaches to spatial analysis, making our stay in the sector during these days essential. During our survey in December 2024, we were hosted by the artist-run space Half House, whose building is directly affected by the plan and will be demolished in the upcoming phases. This allowed us to engage with the nuances and idiosyncrasies of this part of the city: its connections to the broader urban fabric, its daily rhythms, the variety of uses established there, and the activities they sustain.
This research offers an initial assessment of the demolition of Sector Prim, a key area of the urban transformation project for La Sagrera Station. Given the urgency of the demolition process and the significance of the topic, we are releasing this initial set of interviews, recognizing a great potential for continuing this research. In addition to the interviews featured in the podcasts, we held several conversations with other individuals and experts, including Alberto Peral, head of Half House, and Isabel Tomé, Architect and Head of the Office of General Planning of Barcelona. If anyone is interested in contributing to or supporting the next steps, please don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@forty-five-degrees.com.
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We would like to thank TMDC, Mauro Castro, Salvador Clarós, Lídia Guitart, Alberto Peral, Pedro Pineda, Álvaro Porro, Isabell Thrun, and Isabel Tomé for their generosity and time in contributing to this work, and to Half House for their hospitality during our stay. Finally, as a disclaimer, we are critical of the dominant presence of male interventions during the research and reflect on the sectorial implications of the absence of other singularities.
Idea, research, and production: forty five degrees (Berta Gutiérrez Casaos and Alkistis Thomidou)
Research Support: Pedro Pineda
Music Composition: Ed Davenport
Final Sound Mix: Javier Pardo
Translations to spanish: Berta Gutiérrez Casaos ©forty five degrees
Images: Berta Gutiérrez Casaos, 2024 ©forty five degrees
Map: Alkistis Thomidou © forty five degrees