A modernist heritage building
The museum occupies one of the modernist buildings of the Cornellà pumping station. The group of buildings and the surrounding landscape bear the mark of different architects, from Josep Amargós i Samaranch to Antoni Gaudí.
Water: the driving force of the city.
The exhibition Water: the driving force of the city takes a look at the techniques and challenges of supplying Barcelona and the surrounding area, while constructing a local and global dialogue around water sustainability.
It is housed in the building designed by Amargós i Samaranch, a space full of character in which original machinery coexists alongside current technology.
The Cornellà air raid shelter
The museum hides an exciting place of historical interest: an air raid shelter from the Civil War.
This construction was created to protect factory staff during bombing raids by Franco's army. Today, it is a symbol of the commitment of the workers at Aigües de Barcelona, since, thanks to their work, the water supply was maintained throughout the Civil War.
The museum gardens and the Gaudí Waterfall
The Museu de les Aigües garden is a very special space that stands out for its biodiversity, in which natural, agricultural, industrial and artistic elements coexist.
The Gaudí Waterfall, designed by Antoni Gaudí, is one of the modernist architect's earliest works. It was originally constructed in Casa Vicens and later rebuilt in 2019 at the Museu de les Aigües with one difference: the water is now recycled.
Gaudí and water
Antoni Gaudí's work was an ode to nature and to the precious resource that is water. In his first major project in Barcelona, Casa Vicens, the architect designed an impressive waterfall in the garden. Sixty years later, in 1945, the family sold part of the land and the waterfall was subsequently demolished.
In 2019, the Museu de les Aigües rebuilt it and returned this jewel of modernism to the world. The Gaudí Waterfall recreates the sounds of water in nature. The powerful fall of the water generates a very special atmosphere defined by the senses, freshness and sound. Sensations that can be experienced in the museum gardens.
The Agbar Agora
The Agora is a former storage facility that operated between 1954 and 2004, at which point it became a multi-purpose space dedicated to meetings and debates around water, culture and society.
Do you want to know how water travels from nature to your home?
The permanent exhibition reveals how technology and science make it all possible. Experiment with hydraulic tools and machinery, and discover the advances that have made the evolution of this precious commodity a reality, from ancient times to the present day.
The Historical Archive of the Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona
Aigües de Barcelona was founded in 1867. Can you imagine everything we have seen and experienced since then? At the museum, we have a historical archive through which we have preserved documents of great historical value about the water supply to Barcelona and its metropolitan area.
museudelesaigues@agbar.es 