Scenic Path Along Guixeres: A Green Revolution in Urban Design

Batlle i Roig Arquitectura's Award-Winning Landscape Recovery Project

The project's inspiration stems from the aim to establish a network of free spaces, apt for environmentally friendly leisure activities, adapting and recovering underused or degraded spaces. The gypsum mines path, a significant part of the project, involves the adaptation of a 1.65km section, with 800 meters already accomplished.

Scenic Path Along Guixeres stands out due to its dual goals: connectivity and landscape and biodiversity recovery. The project aims to establish the necessary elements to generate a new dynamic on the site that will progressively improve its environmental conditions. It features a typical section with three clearly differentiated strips that adapt to the different situations of the layout, addressing the site's problems and developing its potential.

The project's realization technology is noteworthy. 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, paved with concrete to ensure accessibility and using luminescent aggregate to improve visibility during the evening. The inner strip acts as a plant ditch, to channel runoff and generates a safety strip to stop minor landslips.

The project, located in Igualada, next to Barcelona, Spain, started in May 2017 and finished in January 2018. 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.

Despite the challenges posed by a limited budget due to the crisis, the project was realized with the aim to recover the entire area, historically abandoned, and integrate it into the green and social infrastructure of the city. The project has had an exceptional reception from the citizens, encouraging the municipality to extend this Green Path around the city.

In conclusion, Scenic Path Along Guixeres by Batlle i Roig Arquitectura is a remarkable example of innovative urban design that not only enhances the cityscape but also promotes sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. This project is a testament to the transformative power of design and its potential to improve urban lifestyle.