Project: A Letter for the city
Author: Vicente Varella Forcada
Vicente Varella is reclaiming urban narratives through playful signage.
Oversized shopping cart signs reclaim Barcelona’s empty spaces, turning them into playful sites for public dialogue on waste.
According to research by the Barcelona Research Group on Informal Waste Picking from the Universitat de Barcelona, up to 40% of total metal scrap flows into the recycling system via individuals who, as a means of living, collect, sort and deliver all sorts of metals to recycling facilities.
The study suggests that, collectively, this workforce of ~2,000 people contributes up to 160 tonnes daily, adding up to a total of 44,500 tonnes per year.
A letter for the city reclaims underused public spaces to draw attention to contexts that often go unnoticed. Placed in unassuming locations, it brings forward realities that might otherwise remain overlooked.
Fences, construction sites and abandoned lots become an unexpected canvas for passersby to reflect on the topic.
By translating data into physical, visually engaging interventions, the project turns abstract figures into something tangible, reconnecting the information with the urban context it originates from and making it accessible to those who inhabit it.
To support this translation, a strong visual language was developed, where clarity and contrast play a central role. A combination of freehand drawing and CNC carving allows the message to emerge directly from the material, reinforcing its presence in the public space
The outcome presents a dynamic surface that reveals rich stone-like textures alongside the recycled materiality of glass fiber embedded in resin, visually linking the message to the very matter it speaks about.
Ultimately, the project invites a reconsideration of what remains hidden in plain sight, foregrounding the often unrecognized systems and people that quietly sustain the city’s material cycles.
*Original study: WasteCare, Universitat de Barcelona
**Final data sourced by the Barcelona Research Group on Informal Waste Picking
***Researchers: Daniele Vico, Federico Demaria, Julián Porras Bulla, Claudio Cattaneo
