El cor del Besòs, Barcelona

"El Cor del Besòs'' proposes a model for territorial transformation based on the resilience of the river landscape. The river park becomes a meeting place for the neighbourhoods on both sides of the river, currently separated by the car infrastructure. The two riverbanks are interwoven and renovated by relying on the existing system of streets and bridges, making room for nature and people. The strategy materialises in the transformation of the Gran Via-Besòs junction, with an intermodal station and a metropolitan park as the heart of the proposal.

El cor del Besòs, Barcelona

Client: Metropolitan Area of Barcelona

Status: 3rd Prize

Size: 1 km2

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Type: Prequalified 2 phase competition

Collaborators: AH&Asociados Consultants: VS Ingenieria

The Gran Via-Besòs junction

Territorial strategy

Masterplan

Section of the new station, living quarters, and river park

Model: Station area

Model: Competition area

Our project understands the reorganisation of the different types of traffic in the area as an opportunity to create comfortable and safe connections for pedestrians, bikes and ecosystems. This approach uses the potential synergies between programs to create intense and lively quarters. We renovate the natural and cultural identity of the area, on one hand by recovering and refurbishing historical buildings and traces. And on the other hand by extending the biodiversity of the river ecosystem towards the city, integrating flood control measures, productive landscapes and green corridors. With our project, we re-think infrastructure as a tactile element of the city. Instead of being a physical barrier, it becomes a service and a connectivity hotspot for the communities around it.

Transformed bridge to pedestrian park over the new river park

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The jury awarded us 3rd prize and confirmed that interesting ideas can be extracted from all the runner-up proposals as criteria for future actions in this site: "El cor del Besòs" stood out because it proposes a park to make the transition from the city to the river".

Project team: Eric Reid, Miguel Hernández Quintanilla, Linn Runeson, Laura Toledo Martin

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