The Puig del Roser volcano, at the foot of the larger, Montsacopa volcano, is, on the surface, covered with streets, houses and public facilities. Espai Cràter is an underground building that allows visitors to enter within and discover what a volcano is like from the inside.

Espai Cràter has been created with the aim of fostering understanding, reflection and action with respect to volcanoes, science and society. We began designing this project in 2016, with the presentation of a request for a subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund, which was later granted. The project continued to take form with a co-creation project in 2019 and after consultancy meetings with the core staff of the Espai Cràter project, together with the support of a group of scientists and volcanologists, led by Geociències Barcelona, a body linked to the Consell Superior d’Investigacions Científiques (CSIC) (Advanced Council of Scientific Investigations).

The construction project was placed in the hands of the architectural firm BCQ Arquitectes and Vol Studio, where the architects Toni Casamor and Anna Codina took charge of the project management in February 2020. Espai Cràter now provides the city of Olot with a new exhibition centre, a multi-purpose room, an auditory and a new urban park of some 3,000 square metres.

In March 2022 Espai Cràter opened its doors as a multidisciplinary centre, one that works in an innovative, experiential and participatory manner to look into those global challenges that affect us locally. It is a meeting point for the educational, social and scientific sectors.

Photo: An aerial view of the Montsacopa Volcano in Olot. ACGAX. Servei d’imatges. Josep M. Dou Camps image collection. Author: Llorenç Escapa Marguí, 1961