How do younger generations see and experience the city? How do they envision it in the future?
Ateneu Generació Futura is a Film and Architecture project shaped by the perspectives of the city’s young, future designers and architects. As part of Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture, it presents a unique initiative that brings together six years of research to share with the public.
It is a three-day event at an iconic venue, the Canòdrom of Barcelona, featuring 30 short films, 50 large-format photographs, and two participatory symposia. This project, created by young people between 2019 and 2026 and focusing on various spaces across the city, from the sea to the mountains, offers an innovative perspective on architecture, public spaces, and the future of Barcelona.
The project promotes the active participation of new generations in the debate on the contemporary city, giving space to their visions, desires, and concerns, and fostering their role as protagonists in the transformation of the urban environment. Film is understood as a tool for critical thinking, democratic participation, and imagining the future.
Since 2019, university students and local youth have been working on Barcelona as a space for analysis and creation. The city becomes a laboratory for artistic and critical research, represented through film, photography, and narrative, in a project grounded in values of dialogue, action, and plurality, inspired in the ideas of political philosopher Hannah Arendt.
Over the years, a wide range of materials has been produced, including short films, photographic documentation, and publications, forming a unique and accessible archive. This shared heritage offers a multifaceted perspective on Barcelona and its architecture from the viewpoint of its young residents.
Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture represents a key moment for synthesizing and publicly presenting this journey. The program includes: exhibitions, films and documentaries, debates and conferences, books and publications, as well as workshops and interdisciplinary labs.
The project is being developed in collaboration with universities (Elisava and ETSAB) and local stakeholders, the Maria Espinalt High School, with the participation of young people aged 17 to 23. It promotes, at the Canòdrom, a shared workspace for university students, high school students, and the general public.
The goal is to create an open and inclusive space for dialogue that allows us to rethink the city and imagine new ways of living in it. Through culture, creativity, and critical thinking, Ateneu Generació Futura helps build new narratives about Barcelona and fosters a renewed vision of its future.
