The city of Barcelona has decided to dedicate a corner of Collserola Park to the memory of the architect Rosa Barba Casanovas (Barcelona, 1948–2000). This change was led by the Architects’ Association of Catalonia, at the request of the International Biennial of Landscape Architecture, of which Barba was promoter and which grants, in her honour, the Rosa Barba International Landscape Award.

The chosen corner is the walkway that crosses the dike of the Vallvidrera reservoir, in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district. The factory and the mine that takes the water to Sarrià is the work of architect Elies Rogent. The project was inaugurated in 1864 and was intended to supply Sarrià with drinking water through the Grott mine. Putting Rosa Barba’s name on this structure is a way of inviting us to conquer this park and make it our own.

Institutional event
The event to institutionalise the name will be held on Sunday, 26 March, at 12 noon, with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque. Attending the event, which is open to the public, will be Guillem Costa Calsamiglia, dean of the COAC; Janet Sanz, second deputy mayor and director of the Department of Ecology, Urban Planning, Infrastructure and Mobility; Albert Batlle, councillor for the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district, and Rosa Barba’s son, Marcel Pié Barba.

Rosa Barba
She studied Architecture at the ETSAB, graduating in 1971 and obtaining her PhD in 1987. In 1971, together with the architect Ricard Pié, she founded Rosa Barba & Ricard Pié, Arquitectes, which later became Equip BCpN with the incorporation of Josep Maria Vilanova. Barba combined her professional activity with teaching at the ETSAB, where she directed the master’s degree programme in Landscape Architecture and promoted the creation of the bachelor’s degree in the same field. She was the driving force behind the Barcelona International Biennial of Landscape Architecture which, since the architect’s death, has awarded the Rosa Barba Award in her honour.

Barcelona adds 16 women’s names to places in the city
The City Council has proposed adding as many women’s names as possible to new spaces in the city, to compensate for the historical omission of women from the city map. Only 8.3% of the streets are named after women, while 35% are named after men. Thus, coinciding with International Women’s Day, this March the different districts will hold events to unveil the new names of streets, gardens, squares and block interiors.