ARGUMENT: How do these contrasting categories – the adrenaline and the museum-going activities, the local and the tourist – blend and interact in the city?
THE FACTS     In the recent past, the Catalan capital of Barcelona has become quite famous for something else other than Gaudi, Picasso and the beach, to name a few.

An exceptional urban design with its well-paved leveled streets, flowing upward and downward, makes Barcelona the great place for such adrenaline activities as skateboarding, longboarding and surfing.

Skateboarding, closely related to street culture, is not only a sport but a style and a philosophy of life that can be compared to Punk and other subcultures, where the prefix “sub” only indicates a lower numerical participation of individuals with regard to most people. That is a counter-culture, a set of practices and codes and ways of thinking that rebel against the established norms.

THE PROCESS     We found it interesting to compare and contrast the two activities expressed above – those who go for arts and culture, against those who are more into skateboarding, longboarding or surfing.  Whether as a player or as a viewer, both are treks regular tourists venture into, which to us seemed to be on two extreme sides of the spectrum.   One an external foray involving physical energy, while the other, towards an internal exploration, outwardly passive but could also be a dynamic journey but from within.

Skateboarding activities

Combined adrenaline activities, separated by colors

Where the museums are

Combined sites of adrenaline and museum activities

Making use of datasets derived from Twitter and Flickr, we have created queries in CartoDB so that we can identify where the adrenaline activities are carried out, as well as the museums, and then we combined them.

VERIFICATION STRATEGY     Next, we felt it important to investigate and corroborate the findings we had on the maps. We chose three skate parks, two of which are near museums (MACBA & Museu Blau) and one boarded by streets (Plaça de Universitat).

At the MACBA, the skateboarders and the passers-by seemed to have found a merry mix.

OBSERVATION

At the MACBA

1. high concentration of skateboarders near MACBA due to the infrastructure provided
2. the interaction between the two types of tourists – museum goers and skateboarders – is good as it makes the place more dynamic
3. these activities are over concentrated in the gothic quarter, providing infrastructure for activities will disperse the activity throughout the city

The Plaça dell’Universitat Skateboarding scene

Universitat Skateboarding in the middle of it all.

Putting together the Skateboarders and the community

At the Placa dell’Universitat

1. What make Universitatsuch a popular skate spot in Barcelona is that the ground is smooth – unreal smooth – and, as the ledges are wide and a little less than knee-high, they are good for manuals and the perfect height for grinds and slides. There is also a great atmosphere at Universitat.
2. There are always a lot of people walking through the plaza and they tend to enjoy watching the skaters. It might sound like a hassle having a lot of people constantly cruising around, but somehow the people don’t normally get in the way. The plaza is pretty big and the people tend to be conscious enough to give the skateboarders some space to do their thing.
3. The area is well-exposed as it is boarded on all sides by vehicle-ridden streets, plus passers by.
4. An audience is important to the skateboarder, hence this space works for him.

At the El Maresme Forum

1. There is the Museu Blau which is a Science Museum, and across it is the skate park that is especially designed for a major skating experience.
2. Since the skate park is towards the beach and the land slopes down from the mountain to the seaside, the skate park is not seen from the road and the traffic of people so, unless you are from Barcelona, you wouldn’t know that such a space exists.

The El Maresme Forum. Area of Possible Intervention to “visually invite” skateboarders.

Proposed Intervention area for higher visibility for skateboarders not familiar with the area.

PROPOSALS / CONCLUSION

• Spaces for adrenaline activities, when placed in the PROXIMITY of residential areas, where the locals are, whether it is home, work or study, may either sustain such activities, or be a burden to them.     There must be a SATURATION LEVEL for this relationship between the museum-goer or adrenaline enthusiast, whether they be local or tourist.
• VISIBILITY IS IMPORTANT.   Skateboarders needs an audience. They like to be seen as they do the stunts, therefore,
• INFORMATIONAL CAMPAIGN to the public is vital in support of architecture that prepares the space for adrenaline activities.