Barcelona Supercomputing Center

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/barcelona-supercomputing-center

by diggan • 10 years ago

99 17 10 years ago

late2part• 10 years ago

The aesthetic doesn't work for me, can't explain why, and I know a building is a building, but the dichotomy between old and new, subjective and objective, it just clashes.

I don't assert they should or need to appeal to my aesthetic, nor that the aesthetic value in any way impacts their ability or success.

Just a personal opinion and observation.

jawbone3• 10 years ago

Personally I think its a bit too empty, they should expand it to two floors :)

honkhonkpants2• 10 years ago

It seems to be an allusion to the christian cathedral in Córdoba that's built around a mosque.

greglindahl• 10 years ago

You have it backwards: the church was built in the middle of the mosque.

apathy2• 10 years ago

Three cheers for secular humanism!

A side benefit of entire populations grown weary of fairy tales, now the land formerly reserved for tax-exempt politicking can be repurposed for economic growth that benefits even unbelievers.

The irony of this occurring in the home country of the Spanish Inquisition is (to me) very satisfying. The arc of history is long, but apparently it really does bend towards justice.

xjakob• 10 years ago

Read something about Spanish Inquisition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Legend_of_the_Spanish_In...

apathy2• 10 years ago

I did -- it looks like 3000 people were killed in it. Less than the myths would have you believe, but still a lot of people to kill on purpose (especially if they're not actively trying to kill you). I'm just not a big fan of using fairy tales (or anything else besides open hostility from belligerents) as an excuse to kill other people.

It was certainly interesting reading, though. Thanks for the link. I learned quite a bit from reading it and the linked main Inquisition page. It does seem to be used as propaganda out of proportion to its true toll.

logronoide• 10 years ago

I was there a couple of times. It's an amazing place for a DataCenter.

You can see the datacenter from above, from the second floor. I think it's a great place to take some shots for an evil headquarter of a spies movie.

brutos• 10 years ago

I was there! About 8 years ago during a school trip. The church lies next to a picturesque small lake, and once inside its simply stunning.

I regularly took part in tours of the local super computing center (Munich), but the BSC is really something else. Would definitiv recommend going to see it (book in advance!).

MichailP• 10 years ago

I heard a nice saying once, can't remember the origin precisely. It goes along the lines:

Before, men believed they are the image of their Creator, and nowadays they believe they are image of their creation. I.e. it can often be heard today that humans are like computers, that they have similarities etc.

Original article goes nice with this I think. Otherwise than that, I quite like the aesthetics of supercomputer and its surroundings.

stomato• 10 years ago

I hope that they will continue to keep Torre Girona in as close to its original condition as possible. It's not abnormal for the church to stop using buildings as churches if it makes sense, but it is a beautiful building.

m00dy• 10 years ago

I was there as well like 2 year ago or something. Very well decorated btw.

moonbug• 10 years ago

IBM have the best showrooms.

zardeh• 10 years ago

Having been there, its a really interesting location, quite beautiful.

rootbear• 10 years ago

I love this place. I want to see it in person some day, and I'm glad to hear they give tours. When the Mare Nostrum was first built, I sent the picture of it sitting in the middle of the church to a friend. He posted it on Fark, I think, and one of the comments was that the picture was an "obvious Photoshop"!

Barcelona Supercomputing Center

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