The Government of Catalonia has given the green light to the Barcelona Center for Applied Neurosciences (BCAN) project, which will be located in the former Theatre building on the Mundet Campus of the University of Barcelona. The centre will have an approximate budget of €12 million, funded equally by the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona Provincial Council.

Specifically, €5.9 million comes from the 2025 Singular Research Grants call of the Department of Research and Universities, aimed at strategic scientific and technological infrastructures. The BCAN project was selected by an expert committee from among the proposals submitted to this call.

BCAN will be a research and innovation centre in applied neurosciences and neurotechnologies focused on health, with particular emphasis on mental health. The project is led by the University of Barcelona through the Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro) and is conceived as a multidisciplinary facility, open to collaboration with other public universities and stakeholders in the research system.

The centre will work in areas such as cognitive neuroscience, neuroimaging, neurostimulation, virtual reality, the study of genetic bases and biomarkers, as well as the application of artificial intelligence in applied research contexts. The initiative is framed within a context of increasing incidence of neurological and mental disorders, positioning neuroscience research as a scientific priority.

A scientific project with heritage value
BCAN will be housed in the former Theatre building on the Mundet Campus, a structure designed by Josep Maria Baldrich, which will be rehabilitated through an architectural proposal by Barceló Balanzó Arquitectes and Scob Arquitectura i Paisatge, selected through a public competition. The project preserves the building’s distinctive elements and integrates its heritage value with the requirements of a state-of-the-art research centre.

The building will retain meeting spaces and common areas on the access level, while laboratories and advanced research areas will be located in more restricted zones. The project also includes a neuroincubator, technology validation spaces, teaching areas, and the centre’s administrative offices on the Mundet Campus.

Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2027 and be completed in December 2028.