Barcelona City Council is launching two pilot projects to develop new construction methods using waste from public works. The initiative aims to give construction and demolition materials a second life, repurposing them for other street renovations across the city.
The winning proposals emerged from the international challenge ‘Mineral. Arquitecturas de la mineria urbana’, organised by Fundació BIT Habitat, Barcelona’s municipal infrastructure company BIMSA, Fundació Mies van der Rohe, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the 2026 World Congress of Architects. The competition received 29 proposals: 11 from Catalonia, three from elsewhere in Spain and 15 from countries including China, Turkey, the UK and Hong Kong.
Each winning idea will receive 150,000 euros, which should cover around 80% of the budget needed to carry out the projects. The chosen proposals are called ‘Spolia’ and ‘Grounded futures’.
Spolia, from Belgian studio Baukunst and Swiss institute Structural Xploration Lab EPFL, proposes reusing large pieces of mineral waste from urban pavements, mainly asphalt and concrete, without needing separation or prior transformation. The system would produce large-format construction elements like walls or retaining structures. Meanwhile, the result is a modular, prefabricated system that reduces material handling and carbon footprint.
On the other hand, the Grounded futures project, presented by BC Materials, BC Architects and BC Studies from Belgium, focuses on creating new construction materials from public space mineral waste. It combines direct reuse with recycling crushed remains, bonded together using a natural binder derived from seaweed.
Both teams will soon begin the research and design phase, and pilot tests are planned for 2026 in works managed by BIMSA. The prototypes will be monitored for a year to evaluate them, and the results will be showcased at the 2026 World Congress of Architects.
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