Form and Order and Bushes

When comparing Ciutadella Park against Montjuic, it helps to keep in mind the concept of the two ears of Barcelona, or the reflection and use of each as measured against one another. While each park serves its community in a similar way, the construction of either is markedly different in planning and execution. To begin, each park shares many similarities; both were military installations (Ciutadella Park was built atop a medieval fortress, Montjuic served an important defensive position) and both occupy important spaces within their surrounding communities. The main differences in each is found in its planning, however. Whereas Montjuic reflects a more organic and drawn out process of growth, the plan of Ciutadella Park betrays the single project that replaced the existing fortress on which it was built. And, while Montjuic attempts to build some of Ciutadella’s logic into its fabric with the Olympic Stadium (and Ciutadella attempting loose form to the east of its French landscaped severity) it never achieves the same form of structure or coherency as Ciutadella. Contrasting one against the other in terms of Charles Waldhelm’s landscape urbanism, the strict construction and clear planning of Ciutadella Park against the free form of Montjuic draws a striking parallel to the rest of urban Barcelona; all one has to do is replace Montjuic with the Gothic Quarter and Ciutadella Park with the Eixample and one has a clear comparison to the rest of the built environment. In each park exists an urban building module and structure, especially when considering the impact of either on their surrounding communities.