Faculty Shortlisted for New Barcelona Opera House Competition

April 1, 2026

BY Emily capdeville

Dean Iñaki Alday and Professor Margarita Jover, with their firm aldayjover architecture and landscape, have been shortlisted as one of five finalist teams in the international competition to design the new Liceu Mar opera house in Barcelona's harbor. Their proposal was developed in collaboration with internationally renowned architect Sou Fujimoto and the firm GRAS.

The other four short-listed teams are led by SANAA, Barozzi Veiga, Snohetta, and Chipperfield, selected from among a total of 54 proposals that included other prestigious firms such as Kengo Kuma, Diller+Scofidio+Renfro, REX, Herzog & de Meuron, Shigeru Ban, Zaha Hadid, BIG, or Adjaye. Finalists will submit a model for the next phase of the competition in September.

According to El Pais, the competition sought proposals to complete the development of a "second venue to house the Petit Liceu, contemporary operas, and dance performances. The plan involves not only constructing a building with an area of ​​approximately 3,000 square meters but also reorganizing a 46,000-square-meter space." The 12-member jury, led by Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize, Martha Thorne, "stated that the selection was based on architectural quality and a design focused on user experience, permeability, architectural integration, the relationship with the landscape, and its integration into the urban context."

Jury members paid particular attention to how each proposal engaged with the surrounding landscape and embedded itself within the urban fabric of Barcelona’s harbor, going so far as to consider how the teams "demonstrated expertise in acoustics, design, audiovisual communication, and the technological specialization necessary to adapt to the needs of the theater and Port Vell," according to coverage in La Vanguardia.

More detail about the competition is available on the RETE website.