The Barcelona City Council has agreed with Amics de la Rambla and the Gremi de Restauració on the criteria for colors and materials for the terraces of the future Rambla, an agreement that sets a unified image for this promenade and that will accompany the progressive return of these spaces to the central section starting from summer.
La Rambla will be the first zone of excellence for terraces of the city, a category with which the council wants to order the aesthetics and the use of public space in one of the most transited points of Barcelona.
Cream color and unified materials
The agreement establishes that the parasols must be cream-colored and have an identical height. The tables will be made of polypropylene and must be chosen from several models and a range of light colors proposed by the City Council. The chairs will also be of the same material and will have to incorporate a backrest and armrests.
The planned regulations also ban advertising on terraces. Only the name of the establishment will be allowed, either on a blackboard or on the textile cover of the chairs. The objective is to reduce the visual impact and reinforce a homogeneous image throughout the promenade.
Design competition to complete the image of the road
The FAD will open a design competition to define the auxiliary furniture, the blackboards, and the separators. That process must complete the aesthetic proposal for some terraces that will be part of the new look of La Rambla once the urban transformation of the axis advances.
"This means quality, design, aesthetics so that the Barcelonian regains pride in the public spaces of our city" - Jaume Collboni, mayor of Barcelona
The mayor has also highlighted the change in criteria regarding previous stages. "It goes without saying where we came from regarding the terraces of La Rambla", he stated, before adding that "we will not return" because "the aesthetics of the terraces of the new Rambla will be taken care of in detail".
Fewer tables and more space for pedestrians
The terraces will be located only in the central section of the road and between tree grates, a distribution with which the aim is to increase pedestrian space by 33%. The reorganization will also imply a reduction in capacity compared to the previous situation.
- The tables will go from 382 to 322
- The chairs will go from 1,528 to 1,288
The return of the terraces to the center of La Rambla will be progressive from this summer and the municipal calendar sets February 2027 as the date for all to be already installed under the new criteria of design, materials, and occupation of public space.