Memories of a landscape

Project

267938

Status

Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

Memories of a landscape

Full concept/idea title

Description

In a natural area that has suffered several transformations during the years because of the expansion of the industrial areas that surround it, the proposal aims to take action and raise awareness on our endangered environments. How? Offering a sensorial experience of walking through a sustainable intervention. A path that recovers the traces of the past, linking the visitor with the territory and proposing a social and environmental reflection on the urgency of our commitment with the planet.

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

The natural space of the Llobregat Delta has undergone many transformations throughout history and has been reduced by the expansion of the industrialized areas that surround it. The area remains the last stronghold where nature and the traditional work of the land resist the expansive and devouring character of industry and logistics. “Memories of a Landscape” proposes there, a path based on a 19th Century ruin and its rich natural environment, now in process of disappearing little by little. Thought as a fusion of three time spans, the path reveals the traces of the past in the territory that have been erased, linking the visitor by the present intervention with the landscape and it’s unique character through a sensorial and revealing experience in communion with nature. Finally, it opens a debate on the future of natural spaces and the consequences of a system obsessed with productivity, effectivity, technology and consumerism that forgets where we come from, altering the balance of the planet. Designed with materials that totally respect the environment and accompanied by water as the main source of life, the path is divided into four different parts that refer to a specific past event of the point where they are located.  The first one, recovers and combines in abandoned territories the wild vegetation with the traditional cultivation of El Prat. The second focuses on the ruin and the third on the beach, both recovering memories of the life of the workers that lived there and honoring their relation with water. Finally, the fourth section is formed by reed fences that create a labyrinth that increases its height as it gets closer to the industrial area in the other side of the river as a statement of defense.  The intervention provides the place with new life through a completely sustainable intervention and reveals the opportunities that neglected territories can offer by becoming experiences and bringing more green areas to cities. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

The intervention aims to make a statement and raise awareness about natural threatened territories that are crucial for a balanced ecosystem and to maintain their natural regulation. Fight for the preservation unique territories where to be in contact with our rural heritage and culture as well as with nature in its major exposure. Being a witness of the transformations that the landscape of the area has suffered along time and that still remain nowadays, working on this project has stimulated me to have a critical vision about this. Reflecting on the footprint that human beings leave on the planet as we exist, we should all be aware about how threatened is this unique natural area. We need to take the right direction in a more sustainable approach where we understand the landscape and what it tells us. Respect it, listen and read it’s traces and incorporate it wisely in our lives to face a future that is coming full of challenges that are urgent to solve from a sustainable perspective. Compatibility with the ecosystem: The intervention is totally compatible with the biological rhythm of the environment; it does not interfere with it, it rests on the ground and it lays on the limits of the most strictly preserved part of the Biosphere Park; remaining in the abandoned, poor, deserted and arid pieces of land. In addition, due to the reason that the intervention is not invasive and provides water, as well as vegetation and crops in different points, it contributes to the nesting and reproduction of vegetal and animal species that now fell expelled due to the negative effects of the proximity to industry. Materials: In the other hand, the materialization of the project has completely determined the character of the path and contributes to the crucial sustainable aspect of it. The design of the intervention exclusively uses environmentally friendly materials that have always been commonly used in the area, such as wood, iron rods, reeds, sandstone and terracota. This&a

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

The intervention is designed with materials that are completely integrated into the environment; unlike the materials that are seen today in modern buildings. Simple and natural materials, found in the proximity. The construction methods are simple and reminiscent of the artisan tradition and primitive architecture of El Prat, betting on recovering an austere aesthetic that exists in communion with the landscape.  The visitor is offered a quiet and introspective sensorial experience in contrast to the accelerated rhythms of productivity and industrial activity that rule the metropolis, offering through walk the opportunity to observe, reflect, pause and connect with the natural environment; slow dynamics from which we seem to be moving away. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

In terms of inclusion, this project also aims to give voice to all the citizens of el prat and (specially farmers), who’s houses and lands have been expropriated by big enterprises and institutions with economical interests and as a consequence they find theirselves without a job.  The first part of the path, called “recovering the third landscape” proposes a critique and a temporal solution for this situation. Because of economical issues and non-proper arrangements, many hectares of land today remain abandoned, “in stand by”, with grown wild vegetation. The intervention proposes a walk through them to appreciate the beauty and the value of the natural evolution of this landscape. But moreover, it also proposes to cultivate again certain patches of land to honor the traditional agriculture as well as to provide a job to all the farmers that are unemployed because of the actual situation of the area.  Thinking on future societies, from now on the majority of architectural and landscape projects should focus a lot contributing to citizen’s knowledge and consciousness, offering experiences through which they can learn, feel that they are the piece of the puzzle to make a change and have a critical vision to take action for a better future.  

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

This project proposes a very specific and unique perspective; to evolute as a society not only looking to what comes forward, but also learning from what existed backwards.  It proposes to pause, listen, read the landscape and understand the past to face the challenges of the future. It’s not only a pure materialized idea but it also has a very big conceptual value, a narrative, a manifesto and a critique. It combines the experience with the recognition of a situation and a hope for change. 

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

As the vulnerability of this natural area is an emerging topic nowadays because of the Barcelona’s Airport willing of expansion, it's extremely urgent to intervene with the help of big institutions in order to fight for the preservation of the area.  Therefore, my intention is to get in touch with the El Prat city council to fight together and take action with the concept of the project to try to solve this complex situation.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.