barcelona (eS

LOCATION bArcelonA – sAnT Andreu POPULATION bArcelonA 1,615,448 inHAb. - sAnT Andreu 146,956 inHAb. STRATEGIC SITE 39 HA SITE OF PROJECT 5.3 HA

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IntErvIEW

of the Site’S repreSentative jAuME bArnAdA, Deputy chief architect, urban houSing DepartMent, city of barcelona

presentation of the site within the context of the city development and in terms of strategy

this site is located in northern barcelona. it is part of a zone that will define a new central urban area for the city, focused on the new Sagrera tgv station, a major transport interchange with housing, shops, services and other varied business activities. the project is structured along a linear park that will be one of the urban reference points in coming years. We are working to promote a mixed city where people can enjoy high-quality lifestyles. la Sagrera will be an overarching space that will resolve the relations with the surrounding districts and their shortfalls. one of the most interesting analyses of the proposals in the “study and project areas” should be the relationship between existing and newly created urban spaces. cities are shaped by systems of urban relationships that facilitate interaction and multifunctionality between urban fabrics and activities.

How can the site be integrated in the issue of the adaptable city and how do you consider this issue?

barcelona city council has proposed a new urban strategy based on sustainable urban regeneration. the projects currently underway aim to turn barcelona into a self-sufficient city with productive, human-paced districts within a hyperconnected, zero-emission metropolis. the proposed strategic area must therefore blend planning, housing, infrastructure, the environment, communication and information technologies. europan competitors were therefore asked to develop a series of concepts that we regard as basic to an adaptive city, such as: - begin an urban regeneration process, understood as a multifunctional proposal that is urbanistically coherent with both the city as a whole and with its surroundings, improving cross-connections between the northern suburbs and blending new urban fabrics into the environs of the park. - look further into the idea of renaturalisation by interconnecting the system of public spaces and city parks that include the beach, ciutadella park, glòries plaza, clot park, Sagrera park, trinitat park, the river besòs, etc.. - Set aside spaces linked to the apartment blocks for new local production systems: fab lab - Develop renewable energy proposals aimed at energy self-sufficiency in the area. - Set aside spaces for facilities that are integrated into the urban fabric.

At the time of sustainable development coupled to an economic crisis, have you already defined a specific strategy for the urban development of the site?

in order to adapt the projects for this urban area to barcelona city council’s current financial circumstances, a specific management area has been set up to oversee the suitability, distribution and timetable of the investments and projects in la Sagrera.

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EduArd bAlcElls (eS) HonorAtA grzEsIKoWsKA (pl) architectS - urban plannerS bAlbInA MAtEo (eS) vAlEntIn KoKudEv (bg) Andrés lupIáñEz (eS) MArcos ruIz dE clAvIjo (eS) architectS Ma li (cn) architect joan gallego (eS) criStina aznar (eS) Mike SWorDS (ie) StuDentS in architecture traveSSera De leS cortS 265 eSc.a 6o2a 08014 barcelona, Spain t. +34 686 464 185 eDuarDbalcellS@coac.net WWW.eDuarDbalcellS.coM WWW.honoratagrzeSikoWSka.coM WWW.balbinaMateo.Wix. coM/balbinaMateo WWW.arq-lupianez.coM WWW.vkarq.net

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city Scale StrategieS anD urban tiSSueS of northern beSòS

the public SpaceS SySteM of at the north of beSòS river

rambles verdes

team point of view barcelona is organized by axes parallel and perpendicular to the sea. to the east, the parallel axes are extended to complete the system of public spaces and to establish transversal links between the project site and the surrounding neighbourhoods. through the site, these transversal links form the Green ramblas (Rambles verdes), which are the main public spaces and play a key role in managing the climate and the water cycle: creeks let the surface runoff infiltrate and ponds clean the waste water. between them, strips of potential building space can absorb, over time, the different functions, populations, incomes, housing typologies and ways of life. the Green ramblas are also the main social focus, bringing a truly vibrant new neighbourhood to life.

jury point of view the project aims to give the urban grid a new transversality and create a clearer relationship between the linear la Sagrera park and the bon pastor district, by means of ramblas, civic focal points and green zones. the project breaks away from barcelona’s historical organization in parallel lines running perpendicular to the sea, while at the same time striving to recover the traditional meaning of the “riera” and its natural function of ecological regeneration for these areas. the project’s focus on these different scales is remarkable. it also deals with important factors such as the qualities of collective well-being in the public spaces and housing quality standards.

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the raMbleS verDeS aS ecological regulatorS on the Site

raMbleS verDeS: ruleS for a neW aDaptive neighbourhooD

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urban insertions

team point of view the site’s privileged situation is a great opportunity to improve the connection between barcelona and Santa coloma and to the banks of the besos river. our proposal is based on claiming this natural path and enhancing its connection with Sagrera park, keeping the competition site as an empty space that becomes the vertex of the future urban green belt. to achieve this, we propose a re-naturing of the streets leading towards the river and a new pedestrian bridge that provides a better connection between both sides. extending the scope of the competition, we relocate the 80,000 m2 housing program in the adjacent industrial area, inserting small habitable pieces into the existing structures and adding activity at ground floor level to revitalise the district.

jury point of view this is a brave, intelligent proposal that works simultaneously with global strategies and local actions. it pinpoints the value of the site as the vertex of the urban green belt that runs alongside the besòs river, which in consequence is incorporated as an additional constructionfree green zone. to fulfil the brief, it relocates the 80,000m2 to the adjacent industrial area and regenerates the district from within. it also proposes to renaturalise the streets leading to the river and to connect the two sides.

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calle general parDiñaS 34, 3ºD 28001 MaDriD, Spain expoSepropoSepoliticiSe@ gMail.coM WWW.expoSepropoSepoliticiSe. coM

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carloS MacíaS caparroS(eS) political ScientiSt alberto Martín Sanchez (eS) agricultural engineering StuDent rachelle pacifici (uS) civil engineer oriol guaSch (eS) technical architect elena MoStazo roMeo (eS) lanDScape engineer

right to infrastructure

team point of view the project confronts the rhythm proposed by the Sagrera transport plan with the urban rhythms that barcelona currently faces at the time of socio-economic crisis. instead of building new housing, we propose smaller cycles of investment and financial sums and shorter timescales, to allow the city to react to the crisis. the project (1) expoSeS the problems of financial and social crisis, unoccupied housing and gentrification, and (2) propoSeS an improved city scale social policy for unoccupied housing, and the introduction of an infrastructure that creates cycles for the conversion of local waste into neighbourhood resources. finally, it (3) politiciSeS the democratic management of the new infrastructure, empowers local residents and achieves decommodification through visibility.

jury point of view the strength of the project lies in its incorporation of the baró de viver and bon pastor districts into the area’s transformation process, and its ideas on the heightened visibility of the infrastructure and its operation as an architectural material for producing a city.

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tafetán

team point of view the site as reflection of sustainable growth. the project adopts bon pastor’s cartesian industrial layout, promoting the site’s west-east axis as the natural connection between the river and the future park, a new green route into barcelona; it prolongs the fòrums de Sant andreu promenade, from la Maquinista to baró de viver’s residential neighbourhood, including the former slum in the urban centre of the same name. the arrangement evokes aspects of the adjacent urbanism, and the site is colonised through a physically and visually porous ensemble that acts as a catalyst for the different meshes. a system of hollows and interstices creates permeability towards the block, eliminating the typical boundary idea of the compact city and the hustle caused by industrial overspill.

jury point of view a key factor in the proposal is the underlying conceptual component: the tensions that have arisen at different times during the 20th and 21st centuries, driven by property speculation, excessive consumerism and pollution. in the project, this is proposed as a beacon for a transition towards sustainability-related concepts that should guide the present and immediate future of this architecture.