Every year, the SWAB Stairs project adds colour and creativity to some of the most used spaces in Barcelona: the access stairs of metro stations. With the support of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), SWAB presents the opportunity for design students from Catalonia to exhibit their work publicly, with the aim of linking the academic world with the transformation of the urban landscape.
Every year, the SWAB Stairs project adds colour and creativity to some of the most used spaces in Barcelona: the access stairs of metro stations. With the support of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), SWAB presents the opportunity for design students from Catalonia to exhibit their work publicly, with the aim of linking the academic world with the transformation of the urban landscape.
The theme of this year, "Utopic Paradigms of the Future City", draws attention to the social and environmental struggles that are generated through increased urban density, calling on the students to envision utopic solutions for the cities of the future, taking into consideration urban density, mobility, and the positive impact of technology for the achievement of higher levels of sustainability and social harmony.
For the first time this year, five international schools have also been invited to participate in the competition. The winning designs of students from Catalonia and the participating schools from the UK, Algeria, Argentina, Canada and Hong Kong can be seen all around the city until June 22nd.
The winning designs, their locations (and suggested metro-art-tour-routes) can be seen here.
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| Left: Raquel Luesma, "Smart City", Liceo Via 1 / Right: Pol Vaqué, "Connexió natural", Sardenya |