The Ciutadella military housing demolition is now underway on Wellington Street. Heavy machinery arrived on Wednesday morning to dismantle the last standing vestige of the Jaume I and Roger de Llúria barracks. This structure has lingered as a spectral reminder of Barcelona’s martial past amidst a modern university campus.
This demolition marks the closing chapter of a long transformation for the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). The university acquired the rights to these 19th-century buildings from the Ministry of Defence back in 1992. However, the physical erasure of the military presence was delayed for over thirty years. The final resident—the granddaughter of a military officer—vacated the premises only three years ago.
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Ciutadella Military Housing Demolition: Structural Degradation Over Restoration
For architectural conservationists, the sight of a 19th-century facade crumbling often prompts questions of reuse. The UPF did consider integrating the existing structure into its campus. However, technical assessments revealed that the building was beyond saving.
According to Pablo Pareja, the deputy vice-rector of UPF, the university ruled out rehabilitation due to the “severe state of degradation” of the property. The interior layout was highly fragmented—typical of military residential quarters. This made it incompatible with the open, collaborative spaces required for modern academia. Consequently, the demolition is expected to take approximately six weeks.
Ciutadella Military Housing Demolition: Salvaging Barcelona’s Geology
While the architecture is vanishing, its geological DNA is being preserved. The Ciutadella military housing demolition involves the careful extraction of Montjuïc stone. Approximately 320 massive ashlars, weighing a collective 400 tonnes, are being recovered from the site.
These stones, quarried from the local mountain that overlooks the harbour, will be transferred to Barcelona City Council warehouses. Therefore, rather than ending up in landfill, this lithic heritage will be redeployed in the restoration of other historic buildings across the city. The effort to preserve historical materials runs parallel to other civic initiatives aimed at reshaping the city’s identity, such as Barcelona’s initiative to name public spaces after prominent women.
Ciutadella Military Housing Demolition: The Future Knowledge Hub
The clearing of the site is a precursor to a significant expansion of the UPF footprint in the area. Once the rubble is cleared, the university plans to launch an architectural competition for new facilities designed to foster interdisciplinary work. This forward-looking competition is in step with Barcelona’s architectural ambitions as the 2026 UNESCO World Capital of Architecture.
Crucially for a dense urban environment, the UPF has committed to reserving 30 per cent of the reclaimed plot for green spaces. This addresses a chronic shortage of vegetation in the university district. If the timeline holds, the new structures will be completed by 2029. Such a large-scale redevelopment is particularly noteworthy given Barcelona’s challenging property market outlook for 2026. This project sits adjacent to the upcoming Ciutadella del Coneixement (Citadel of Knowledge), a massive research hub expected to house 1,200 researchers by early 2027.
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