Carrer del Balç

Client:
Manresa Council

Date:
2002

Location:
Manresa

  • Carrer del Balç 0

An opportunity to raise awareness of a highly evocative space in the medieval heart of Manresa

Carrer del Balç is a medieval-looking street, located in the heart of the old district of Manresa: a real maze that runs under the porches of the houses in the midst of a truly evocative atmosphere. Until this plan was drawn up, it was an enclosed area that was only opened for guided tours due to the extensive deterioration of its architecture. However, as has been repeatedly shown, this is an area with big potential for tourism, adding great value to a visit to medieval Manresa. This potential was much easier to enhance once Manresa's economic agents expressed an interest in investing and carrying out activities in this sector.

The work carried out by Transversal analysed the history of this street, which is highly complex, relating it to other elements within the immediate surroundings. A detailed exploration was then made of all the areas, on which very little information had been available, helping to confirm its great interest in architectural and historical terms. With this foundation, and in coordination with the architectural study carried out, a proposal was made to turn this street into a themed area in the medieval Manresa of the 14th century: a regulated commercial area with resources very much in line with the theme: restaurants from the time, shops-workshops for handicrafts, leisure activities and animation... This was a singular proposal within the context of the "medieval" sites of Catalonia, aimed both at the residents and future visitors. The ultimate aim is to revitalise this strategic area in Manresa, which could become the soul of the old town.