On the occasion of the CCIB‘s 20th anniversary, Josep Lluís Mateo reflects on the building and its primary purpose:

Convention centers are the successors of the old congress centers; more hierarchical, archaic…. Here it is a generalized meeting place, flexible, open to all configurations, activities and scales.
Here ours also adds spatial quality: natural light, views of nature, gardens, patios…
Where usually there have been black boxes around the highway.
Spatial flexibility, functional multiplicity and environmental quality have been fundamental issues to design this building.

The relationship with the city

Transforming a part of the city, previously non-existent, a traditional extreme periphery such as La Mina, and completing the Diagonal, connecting it with Poblenou, and turning the seafront into a large collective garden for the enjoyment of all, was our goal.
Our building CCIB , now, urban front is part of the Fòrum space to transform this extreme periphery into a new active and lively part of the city, helping to integrate the sea with the urban front.
The very expression of the south façade is a formalization of this principle. Interaction between the sun and the sea.

The CCIB has received a significant number of international awards and recognitions from different institutions and organizations linked to architecture and the events industry.