Imagining the possible
Twenty-seven years ago, on 28 November, MACBA opened its doors to the public. It was the result of a long process that began in 1960 when an important sector of civil society championed the idea of creating a museum of contemporary art on the top floor of the Coliseum Cinema; a project that lasted three years. In 1985, the initiative was again taken up by Pasqual Maragall, then Mayor of Barcelona, who galvanised public and private institutions into supporting a new museum.
Three years later, in 1988, the U.S. architect Richard Meier was commissioned to design the building. A journey that usually begins with the supply of tangible data, such as the presentation of the architectural model, the laying of the foundation stone, etc., yet neglects the subtle and laborious dialogue required to imagine a new museum. To draw lines, to sketch perspectives, to simulate an elevation, to visualise a neighbourhood, to imagine a future, to create a dialogue with the idea of the possible. As witness to this artefact of ingenuity, the MACBA Collection preserves a series of drawings by Richard Meier that are not only a record of the process, but an invitation to imagine possible museums in the future. Check out the video of the journey:
![Richard Meier
Barcelona. Museum garden
[ca. 1985-1995]](https://img.macba.cat/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2665_001_l.jpg)
