AN URBAN GREEN SPACE OF HIGH ECOLOGICAL VALUE
The Andalucía Park is based on a previous diagnosis approached from different perspectives and a deep process of listening to the neighbors. The objective was to return to the park its main function, creating a space of high ecological value and social cohesion focused on the user and the roots of its lost identity: the Henares River and the Puerta Andalucía.
When it came to giving new life to the park, it was designed as a green space full of meadows and trees, where paths were kept to a minimum, creating only one accessible diagonal path – which was the one most used by the neighbors – and another smaller one across the bus stop. A careful landscape study was carried out to favor the biodiversity of the park, enlarging the flowerbeds, the vegetation and introducing new shrub species arranged according to water requirements. The green areas have been increased by 4,896 m2 and hard surfaces have been reduced by 1,630 m2.
LANDSCAPE, IDENTITY AND SENSE OF IDENTITY
Besides providing these outdoor green spaces, the park is connected to the historical heritage to recover its identity. Two elements that refer to its origin are thus enhanced: the Henares River and the Puerta Andalucía. For the first of these, and as an integrating element of the whole proposal, an elevated luminous pergola was designed that sinuously runs through the park, resembling the course of the Henares River. This lighting is conceived as a functional sculptural element that gives identity and a sense of identity to an entire neighborhood. For the second, two actions are carried out that allow the park to reconnect with its Andalusian roots. On the one hand, the Puerta de Andalucía, a small replica of Madrid’s Puerta de Alcalá with Andalusian patterns such as white stucco and ceramic tiles, is given a greater prominence. And, on the other hand, a flamenco tablao is incorporated as a central dance floor that highlights one of the most recognized arts outside our borders.
The study of the environment and the social listening process allowed us to know a social and generational diversity that helped us to establish a wide range of uses for the park. In this way, we created a naturalized space designed to be enjoyed by everyone and not only as a place to pass through.
