LIVING

Odd, but by no means the most eclectic collection on offer at La Fira de Bellcaire, better-known as Els Encants Vells, Barcelona’s flea market. It has been in this location for almost 80 years, minimally ordered and unconventional, but the city has plans to turn it into a contemporary shopping centre and move the market to a new location.

Or so it’s said. But this is not the first time that Els Encants’ last days at this location have been scheduled. A 1997 article in Metropolitan announced the Ajuntament’s plans to move the market to the car park beneath the Glòries roundabout. It never happened. Nor did any of the other various schemes for relocating the vendors and their stalls that were proposed in the following years. So it’s not exactly breaking news that the Ajuntament is saying Els Encants is to be moved. What is news, this time, is that all the players involved—consisting mainly of city officials and vendors—seem relatively satisfied. 

In early 2003, when the Ajuntament revealed plans to move the market to Vall d’Hebron, Diego Escamez, the president of the Encants Sellers’ Association, told El País that the vendors wanted to remain in the Glòries area: “We do not want to be an impediment to the reform, but we think that there is space for all of us.”

A subsequent proposal wanted to move the market to the Monumental bull ring, but the sellers were not convinced. “We did not agree with the first proposal because the space only had 5,000 metres and we asked for 10,000. What they are proposing now has 8,200 metres and we can stay outdoors,” Escamez commented to the press about the latest plan.

The architect for the new Encants is Daniel Modol, who spoke extensively with vendors and was careful to integrate their needs into his proposal. His design was selected from 12 others, and will cost €2.5 million, money which will come from a €125 million budget to be spent on the renewal of 11 of the city’s markets. The transition of the market is part of a larger modernisation project involving the entire Glòries area, and will take as long as 10 years to complete with a total cost of €3.15 million.