Place de Catalogne

Place de Catalogne is a circular square designed by the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill and inaugurated in 1985. It stands as a prime example of Bofill's signature style, which intentionally blended modernist apartment housing with a grand, nostalgic nod to classical French architecture, complete with sweeping semicircular forms, stone-like facades, columns, and pediments. The square was originally anchored by a large, controversial fountain called the Creuset du Temps, or Crucible of Time, designed by Polish artist Shamai Haber. This installation featured a dark, circular granite slab inclined toward the Eiffel Tower. For years, the fountain was a point of contention because it was frequently broken or turned off, leaving the massive slab to sit as an empty concrete fixture in the middle of a traffic-heavy roundabout. In recent years, the square underwent a major transformation to address its reputation as a stark, car-centric urban wasteland. City planners removed the long-defunct fountain and replaced the asphalt with an urban forest containing nearly five hundred trees and various plant species. This change was part of a broader initiative to cool the local environment and repurpose former transit corridors into pedestrian-focused green spaces. The buildings that enclose the circle are known as the Echelles du Baroque. These structures house over five hundred residential apartments, a significant portion of which are dedicated to social housing. While some critics have historically described the architecture as severe or dystopian, the surrounding space has now shifted into a vibrant local hub where the former roar of traffic has been replaced by the quiet of a managed ecosystem.