La Volta: an architectural symbol for Barcelona combining traditional construction and contemporary innovation
October 28, 202503/11/2025
A research team from the inLab FIB at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), together with the Asociación de Personas con Movilidad Reducida (AsoPMR), has taken part in the Spot4Dis project to enhance the mobility and autonomy of people with reduced mobility.
The Asociación de Personas con Movilidad Reducida (AsoPMR) supports the improvement of autonomy within this community by sharing useful information and promoting socially impactful projects. One of its key initiatives is Spot4Dis, an application designed to identify and geolocate parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities. Although it already has a database with more than 85,000 accessible parking spaces, the main challenge has been to improve the accuracy and coverage of the mapping, as well as the user experience. To address this, the project has benefited from the support of Google.org Fellows, using artificial intelligence and advanced digital tools such as voice commands, satellite imagery, and detection algorithms to expand the existing database.
Within the Spot4Dis application, inLab FIB has developed an intelligent module capable of automatically detecting parking spaces for people with reduced mobility based on:
- Satellite and street imagery
- Advanced computer vision algorithms
- Deep learning models
This module has been trained using data from five pilot cities: Valencia, Zaragoza, Badajoz, and A Coruña (Spain), and Genoa (Italy).
Impact
This new technological component will make it possible to automatically expand and update the accessible map, improving territorial coverage and reducing reliance on manual data entry.
The improvement of Spot4Dis will facilitate travel planning, reduce accessibility barriers, and strengthen the personal autonomy of thousands of people with reduced mobility. Through technology and collaboration between social organisations and research centres, the project moves towards more inclusive and accessible cities for everyone.
Budget and Funding
The project has received a total budget of 1.5M € and has a duration of one year (April 2024 – April 2025).
Technology
Sector
You want to know more?
Related Projects
- A research team from the inLab FIB at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), together with the Asociación de Personas con Movilidad Reducida (AsoPMR), has taken part in the Spot4Dis project to enhance the mobility and autonomy of people with reduced mobility.
- The La Volta project foresees the construction of a large Catalan vault pergola within the Llars Mundet campus, in the Montbau neighbourhood (Horta-Guinardó district). This structure will become a new architectural landmark for Barcelona, combining traditional construction techniques with contemporary innovation. The project involves the Rehabilitation and Architectural Restoration Research Group (REARQ), at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), and is led by the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC) and the Barcelona Provincial Council.
SATE-VEG: A system for energy renovation of buildings that helps reduce the urban heat island effect
Researchers from the Architecture, Energy and Environment (AiEM) group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) have developed SATE-VEG, an external thermal insulation system with a vegetal coating that offers seasonally adaptive thermal behaviour, enhances urban biodiversity and promotes positive health effects. The system is made from organic materials, requires low maintenance and consumes minimal water.- A research team from the Interdisciplinary Group on Building Science and Technology (GICITED) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC) is leading the BioSAFE project, which aims to develop sustainable building envelopes —mainly façades— designed according to sustainability, comfort and safety criteria, with particular attention to their acoustic behaviour and fire performance.
