Conversations in Les Rambles

Presentation

Title

Conversations in Les Rambles. An action to facilitate dialogue between tourists and residents in Barcelona.

Programme

First year of the Undergraduate Degree in Design 2017-18.

Tutors

Danae Esparza (coord.), Silvia Escursell, Josep Novell, Noel Diaz, Raquel Llaberia, Pablo Figuera, Mariana Eidler, i estudiants voluntaris: Elisabeth Pujol Gil, Albert Puertas Rey, Yara González Vázquez, Ana, Torrejon Revilla, Araceli Morand Ripol, Daniel Verano, Helena Boet, Jesús Jiménez, Jordi Farreras, Elsa Casanova, Julia Bartrina, Nils Kamminga, Liam Kelly, Marco Gesualdo.

Collaborators

Go Acció Cultural, KmZERO, Rrrrr.

More information

Context

150 chairs of Elisava students were placed in the middle of Rambla Santa Mònica to promote dialogue between neighbors and tourists. Being a project that Elisava has been doing for 27 years, this year, in the framework of the remodeling of La Rambla (Km ZERO), chairs were placed to facilitate an unusual dialogue between tourists and neighbors to discuss about its transformation.

Project

“Converses a Les Rambles” took place on 9th of March 2018 and while testing different dispositions of the urban furniture, students were triggering the dialog between neighbours and tourists about the public space. This action was organized jointly with a cultural association of the neighbourhood Go Acció Cultural, from which a possible collaboration for the implementation of periodic events organized with the aim of provoking the debate around issues that concern the neighbourhood.

Actions and tools

Triggering. Elisava students placed 150 wooden chairs in the urban space, in a temporary action located in the middle of the most visited street in the whole city. In parallel, volunteer students invited the passers-by to sit on the chairs and talk about the current status of La Rambla, their favorite and negative aspects.

Research question

How can we create spaces for dialogue between tourists and citizens? How can we help citizens to express their opinions about the public space? Can we help the Barcelona citizens to recover the public space of La Rambla?