The headquarters of INEFC (National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia) was one of the sports facilities foreseen in the Master Plan for the Anella Olímpica (Olympic Ring) on Montjuïc hill. Ricard Bofill was commissioned with the design of the building in 1984 and Barcelona City Council approved the basic project in 1987. Construction work on the building began in February 1988 and was completed in 1991. It was the first time that a building had ever been built in Spain using a prefabricated and on-site formwork technique. Built in a classical style, the interior has been designed to hold high-level competition sports and to permit real-time television coverage. It also has precision security systems. During the Olympic Games, INEFC was the venue for the freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling competitions.
Within the Anella Olímpica, INEFC is located on the fourth level, which equates to the lower edge of the complex of buildings and esplanades: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium), Palau Sant Jordi (an indoor sports arena), Piscines Bernat Picornell (Bernat Picornell Pools) and the Telefónica communications tower. The building, which is now affiliated to the Government of Catalonia’s Directorate General for Sport, has a capacity for 1,000 students and is equipped with its own training fields. Outside, there are four open-air fields: a natural grass one, an artificial grass one, and two synthetic carpet ones.
