Barcelona's legendary youth centre la Masía (Catalan for "the farm"), in the shadow of the Camp Nou, that has been used by Barcelona for almost thirty years, will soon no longer house Barcelona youth players. The club plans to open a new centre in a few years time.The building that over the last three decades has been synonymous with Barça’s rising stars will no longer accommodate youth players, who will eventually be moving on to Sant Joan Despí. Before the end of the year work will start on a new building, which should be ready in 2010.
The old country house at Can Planes will soon stop housing youth players. Before 2008 is over, work will have begun on a new building to accommodate these youngsters. It will be located at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, where the structure of the building that will replace La Masia is already in place.
For 2010
If the work goes to schedule, the new residence could be ready some time during the 2010/11 season. The club already has planning permission and all the Board of Directors now has to do is commission the work so that it can get under way before the end of 2008. The actual building will be 6,000 metres square and will cost 8 million euros, not including costs associated to equipping the facility and water treatment.
Capacity
Functionality and comfort are two of the main factors being considered for a building that will be able to house up to 82 youngsters, in quad and double rooms. The youngest players will sleep in the quadruple bedrooms, while the doubles will be for older ones.
Each room will include bathrooms and individual beds, in addition to one desk and wardrobe per player. The ground floor will contain the kitchen, visiting room, administrative offices, classrooms and a recreation hall, where there will be a giant screen for watching matches and the typical La Masia bar football tables.
A building for temporary residents
One of the big changes regarding this project is that it will be made compatible with other uses. Not only will young residents stay there, but also adults. This will mean that professional or international teams will be able to organise camps at the Ciutat Esportiva de Sant Joan Despí.
A sustainable Masia
Aside from aesthetics, the building will also involve certain sustainable elements, such as, for example, being designed not to directly absorb heat from the sun. Also to combine sustainability with technology, the generation of electricity by photovoltaic panels on the roof is being looked into.
Read the full article and see more images of the new building on Barcelona's official website
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