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Barcelona will move its emergency centre to Les Tres Xemeneies
Barcelona is preparing a new emergency coordination centre in the Llac building, within the Les Tres Xemeneies complex in Poble-sec. The City Council will invest 36.6 million euros to refurbish a disused property and concentrate the response to crises, serious accidents, or incidents affecting the city's daily operations there.
The project will move the current CECOR, located on Carrer Lleida, to a larger and better-equipped space. The new headquarters will allow for improved coordination between Guàrdia Urbana, Bombers de Barcelona, Mossos d’Esquadra, and the Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques when a major incident occurs in the city.
The work is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, with the aim of having the centre ready by the end of 2028. The change is not just about location: the building will double the current operational area and exceed 5,000 square metres dedicated to control rooms, crisis spaces, work areas, and rest zones for teams operating around the clock.
Technology will play a central role. The new centre will feature videowalls, redundant communication systems, multi-technology networks, and a high-security data centre. The idea is that, in an emergency, the involved services can share information in real time and make decisions without losing crucial minutes.
The refurbishment will retain recognisable elements of the building, such as the ceramic lattice façade, but will adapt the entire structure for strategic use. There will also be improvements in security, energy efficiency, and facilities designed to ensure the centre can continue operating even in complex situations.
The project includes sustainable solutions, such as using heat generated by technological equipment to climatise the building and circadian lighting systems. These are less visible details from the street, but important for a facility that needs to be active day and night.
The choice of Les Tres Xemeneies also has an urban significance. A space with a strong industrial memory and years of underuse will take on a key role for Barcelona, in an area next to Paral·lel and well connected to different parts of the city.
The new centre will not be as noticeable in daily life as a square, market, or bus line, but it could be decisive when something goes wrong. In a city exposed to major events, heatwaves, storms, fires, or mobility problems, better emergency coordination means responding sooner and more clearly when residents need it most.