ISE’s Barcelona home to add 25% more exhibition space

ISE’s home in Barcelona is to add another 60,000 sq metres to its existing floor space of 240,000 sq metres, with the construction of a new Hall Zero building.

Work on the foundations of the building began last week at a plot of land located by the Plaça Europa that was previously occupied by Porcelanosa, which makes tile, kitchen and bathroom equipment.

The new site is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 and will be available for use by the exhibition centre’s two biggest shows – ISE and Mobile World Congress – in early 2027.

The new 60,000 sq metres of exhibition space will be spread over two floors and will be linked to the current eight pavilions at the Gran Via site by an elevated walkway. The new site will also house a 14-storey office building that will be acquired by the Generalitat government of Catalonia for use by public-sector employees.

Pere Aragones, president of the autonomous government of Catalonia, the Generalitat, commented: “This is not just an expansion of the site. It’s an expansion of opportunities for the next generation of Catalans.”

His remarks were reported by Barcelona’s Vanguardia newspaper, after a foundation stone was laid at the site last week.

The development is being promoted by Fira 2000, a company formed by the autonomous government of Catalonia, an array of local councils in and around Barcelona, the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Fira de Barcelona exhibition centre itself.

The company is to spend €498m on its expansion plans, with €323m to be spent at the Gran Via site and the rest of the funds to be spent on the renovation of the company’s other exhibition centre in Montjuic, Barcelona. This renovation project is due to be completed in 2029, in time for the centenary of Expo 1929, the world fair held in Montuic almost a century ago.