The project uses prefabricated elements to locate rich and diverse spaces and reading areas along the 65meter-long vaulted structure. Originally built in 1874, the building is a Roman-like construction with 12meter-high brickwork vaults. Since 1999, the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona has had a new library, set up in a forgotten nineteenth-century water tank located in the heart of the city. The project, commissioned to architects Clotet and Paricio, uses prefabricated elements to locate rich and diverse spaces and reading areas along the 65meter-long vaulted structure. Originally built in 1874, the building is a Roman-like construction with 12meter-high brickwork vaults.
The construction of Diposit de les Aigues dates back to 1874, built by Josep Fontsere, but it was not until 1880 when it was first used as a reservoir of water, with the purpose of regulating the flow of the waterfall in the park of Ciutadella as well as watering their gardens. The then young student of architecture, Antoni Gaudi made the structural calculations of the whole of the reservoir and its support elements. It was constructed following a classical Roman prototype, formed by 1-meter thick, 14-meters high brick walls, intersecting with vaults and extending 65 meters, as if it were the effect of a mirror, supporting the large tank on top.
After one hundred years of different uses -old people's home, storage for the fire brigade, car park for the local police department, archive for the Court of Justice- it became property of the Pompeu Fabra University in 1992.The rehabilitation of the Water Tank started in 1993 by architects Lluis Clotet and Ignacio Paricio. The deposit is joined by an underground passage to the Jaume I building, but it did not start to work as a General University Library until 1999. The interior space is overwhelming. It is a quiet place, allowing to isolate oneself from the outside in a magical atmosphere. Clotet and Paricio's respectful intervention using prefabricated elements for the intermediate floors allows for dismantling of the whole intervention if needed. These new levels favour the creation of very distinctive and diverse reading areas -ranging from spaces barely over 2 meters high to others over 12 meters high, under the vaults- allowing each person to choose their own space according to their needs.
In 2009 the Les Aigues Library was awarded the "Decade Award" by Fundacion Oscar Tusquets, which rewards the best work of architecture built in Barcelona 10 years after its completion .
