Barcelona is setting up a new laboratory for creative industries in its Palo Alto district, to help foster growth in the sector, particularly using AV and new light and sound technologies.
A 2,000sqm industrial building is being adapted to incorporate flexible modules to host companies and provide spaces to host start-ups, as well as exhibition spaces and showrooms. The laboratory promises to incorporate the latest technology so that the Barcelona-based companies can test and experiment.
Barcelona City Council is allocating €5.5m to the project, which will consolidate the creative and innovative attraction of the entrepreneurial community in the 22@ innovation district, will act as a centre for the creation and experimentation in audio-visual technologies. The council sees this as a “commitment towards the most disruptive and advanced technologies”. More than 8,100 companies in Barcelona (11.8% of the total) work in the creative industries and employ 143,461 people, making the city ninth in Europe in the sector.
The space, in Warehouse E, is a listed, heritage building, so it will be carefully updated to preserve the original architecture and maintain the greenery covering its facade. The works will begin in April, and it should open next year.
