Espanya Industrial pavilion

Located right next to Sants railway station in Barcelona, the Pavelló de l’Espanya Industrial is a sports pavilion that was built specifically for the Barcelona’92 Olympic Games. It was designed by the architects Ramon Artigues and Ramon Sanabria and located on an old industrial site dating back to 19th century. Building on brownfield sites was part of the urban regeneration policy of the Barcelona’92 Olympic project. Funded by and built on behalf of the Organising Committee for the Barcelona’92 Olympic Games (COOB’92), it was opened on 7 December 1991 in order to host the World Weightlifting Cup prior to the competition at the Olympic Games.

In order to adapt it to Olympic requirements, temporary stands were installed in the main hall and entrances for the public and the press were organised around a walkway that connected directly to the Plaça dels Països Catalans in front of the railway station. The Olympic family entrance was at floor level and connected directly to a landscaped area of the Parc de l’Espanya Industrial. This area of the park was used by the athletes, technical teams and others as a place where they could take a break and relax. During the Olympic Games, 349 members of staff were allocated to the venue, 306 of whom were volunteers.

Since the Barcelona’92 Olympic Games, the Pavelló de l’Espanya Industrial has been remodelled several times and it now has a floor area of 10,000m2. Among the facilities, there is a multi-purpose court (where several small sports clubs from the local area do their training), a covered six-lane swimming pool and a gym.