Scenic Path Along Guixeres
Landscape Recovery for BATLLE I ROIG ARQUITECTURA
The project, of which 800m are already complete, is set within a broader intervention for the city of Igualada that seeks to generate paths and cycle lanes in the form of a green belt around the edge of the city. This new green mobility crosses a very run-down site where gypsum used to be mined, a place later used as a waste transfer station, with problems of runoff damage and landslips. The proposal has two main objectives: connectivity, continuing the city-scale project, and landscape and biodiversity recovery, to generate a new dynamic that will gradually improve its environmental conditions.
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Scenic Path Along Guixeres Landscape Recovery Press Releases
Discover our press releases for Scenic Path Along Guixeres available in the following languages: English.
Scenic Path Along Guixeres Landscape Recovery Media Articles
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Unique Properties
The project has two main goals: first, connectivity, achieving the continuity of this global project around the whole city (the green ring). Second, landscape and biodiversity recovery, establishing the necessary elements to generate a new dynamic on the site that will progressively improve its environmental conditions through the use of collected water. In this sense, the proposal creates a typical section with three clearly differentiated strips that adapt to the different situations of the layout, addressing the problems of the site as well as developing its potential.
Tags
Landscape Recovery, Pedestrian Path, Cyclable Lane, Rest Areas, Viewpoint, Architecture Landscape, Biodiversity
Production Technology
The central strip, with the main 3-metre-wide granitic-sand track, guarantees the continuity of the Green Ring. The outer strip is a linear lookout overlooking the city. A 1.2-metre-wide track paved with concrete to ensure the accessibility and using luminescent aggregate to improve visibility during the evening. The layout of this linear scenic viewpoint recognises the principal existing landmarks, vegetation and trees by widening and creating rest areas. The inner strip acts as a plant ditch, to channel runoff and generates a safety strip to stop minor landslips. These same fallen rocks are used to build a sequence of retaining areas to filter and rechannel this water to new points where vegetation has been planted to colonise the place.
Design Challenge
The project was born and built during the crisis, for which we had a very small budget available. We were asked just to solve a new path through that location in order to ensure the continuity of the Igualada Green Ring, but the knowledge acquired about the site and its values forced us to take the whole former gypsum mines as our scope of work. We did not want to design a project of a simple path, oblivious to everything observed and its potentials. Our desire was to recover the entire area, historically abandoned, and integrate it into the green and social infrastructure of the city.
Project Duration
The project, located in Igualada (next to Barcelona, Spain) started in May 2017 and finished in January 2018.
Operation Flow
The intervention creates a landmark visible from afar (the viewpoint) that acts as a reclamation for the whole city and encourages the use of space. Also, the path is completed with a number of small living areas strategically placed on the most privileged areas. This section of the path ends in a final observation deck cantilevering over the mountain providing a panoramic view of the Anoia and Montserrat Mountain. The project has had an exceptional reception from the citizens. They flock to stroll and practice sports in their leisure time. This has motivated the municipality to go on with additional segments of the track to continue extending this Green Path around the city.
Research
The proposal’s innovation lies in the result of this process of analysis and synthesis that concludes with the technification of conventional solutions for path construction, in order to accomplish greater performance regarding accessibility, visibility, durability and re naturalization of the environment, with an optimum cost ratio and maximum efficiency regarding environmental footprint.
Inspiration
The project is framed within Igualada’s Green Ring, creating a set of pedestrian and bicycle paths as a belt around the city. This new green sustainable mobility infrastructure aims at establishing a network of free spaces, apt for environmentally friendly leisure activities, adapting and recovering, to great extent, currently underused or degraded spaces. In this context, the gypsum mines path implies the adaptation of a 1,65km section, of which 800 meters have already been accomplished.
Image Credits
Image #1: Photographer Jordi Surroca, Guixeres (1), 2018. Image #2: Photographer Jordi Surroca, Guixeres (2), 2018. Image #3: Photographer Jordi Surroca, Guixeres (3), 2018. Image #4: Photographer Jordi Surroca, Guixeres (4), 2018. Image #5: Photographer Jordi Surroca, Guixeres (5), 2018. Video Credits: Stupendastic Films
Project Overview
Scenic Path Along Guixeres Landscape Recovery has been a Golden winner in the Urban Planning and Urban Design award category in the year 2020 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
Golden Recognition
BATLLE I ROIG ARQUITECTURA was recognized with the coveted Golden A' Design Award in 2021, a testament to excellence of their work Scenic Path Along Guixeres Landscape Recovery.
BATLLE I ROIG ARQUITECTURA Press Releases
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Scenic Path Along Guixeres Unveiled by BATLLE I ROIG ARQUITECTURA
BATLLE I ROIG ARQUITECTURA completes a 1.65km scenic path along Igualadaâs Green Ring, promoting sustainable mobility and biodiversity recovery.
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