Project Description
PARC BLAU by ON-A
The Barcelona architecture studio ON-A, directed by Jordi Fernández and Eduardo Gutiérrez, presents a new concept for the renaturation of the port of Barcelona. The ‘PARC BLAU’ project reimagines the port as a large, greener public space, full of life that would allow residents and visitors to enjoy this area without the city giving up, however, the services currently established in the area.
How could Barcelona embrace the sea?
Is it possible to transform the port of Barcelona into a large urban park? Parc Blau is not just an experimental concept to reflect on the future of cities, it is a project that could be implemented and become a reality.
In line with the concept presented in 2020 by ON-A to convert the Camp Nou Stadium into a large 26-hectare park, this year the office presents another example of renaturation that would allow the city of Barcelona to gain greener public spaces, generating a place of leisure, culture and biodiversity. A park in which to walk, swim, run, play, play sports, sunbathe, which residents and visitors can enjoy, in which the beach, the port and the city merge and connect in perfect balance.
The port of Barcelona has historically been an infrastructure that has looked at the sea, with a rather hermetic nature, designed to offer logistics services and only partially integrated into the city’s leisure and cultural activities. PARC BLAU, however, proposes to open this space, dividing the services between the logistics platform and Port Vell, allowing it to expand into the interior of the city, creating a new and large urban public space.
Currently, 80% of the perimeter of the port is inaccessible to the public, starting with the Paseo de Colón, which is interpreted as a great architectural barrier that makes accessibility complex or even non-existent in some places. In total, there is a perimeter of about 9,500 meters, 88% private access and only 12% public access. All this space has the potential to become a large public space capable of decongesting the area and connecting the adjoining neighborhoods of Ciutat Vella, Raval, Paral-lel and Barceloneta.
In the framework of MODEL Barcelona Architecture Festival (5-15 May, 2022), ON-A encouraged citizens and public administrations reimagining the territory and dialogue so to establish a long-term plan that would transform the city, turning it into a global example of how architecture , urban planning and private services can coexist without sacrificing comfort, sustainability and enjoyment.
The project could be developed in several phases and strategies. On the one hand, the perimeter line that separates the port from the city would be modified, enabling people to use different leisure, restaurant, cultural and administrative areas. On the other hand, a large green walk would be added to connect the new perimeter and collect the flow of all the adjoining neighborhoods. All activities and services intended for citizens, both on land and at sea, would be distributed along the promenade. The transformation would give rise to a park that would also have an artificial “lake” that could be reached by canoe, paddle surf or used for other maritime activities.
The city of Barcelona already underwent a major transformation in 1992, when a large part of the coastline and more than 10 km of beaches were recovered. Now there is a new opportunity to once again carry out a great operation to conquer the perimeter of these 10 km of beach, turning Barcelona into a greener and more inclusive city.
The city still has a pending appointment with a sustainable future and must be re-naturalized to survive and continue to grow. Currently, Barcelona could be defined as a dense, congested city with a conspicuous lack of large green areas, beyond the outer lung of the Collserola mountain. This vision makes more sense than ever after the pandemic, which has shown us the contradictions and shortcomings of the city, highlighting the urgency of applying new ideas and different and innovative urban developments.
COLÓN-ising the port of Barcelona
As a result of this research and reflection on the Port of Barcelona, ON-A was invited to make an Augmented Reality intervention in MODEL Barcelona Architecture Festival (5-15 May 2022) within the theme “Between Species”. The chosen location was the statue of Columbus where the visitors were able to contemplate the totally disruptive and utopian proposal of the Barcelona-based studio.
Through AR technology, visitors were able to visualize a large tree where the statue of Columbus is now located, with the intention of proposing a reflection on how citizens should “colonize” public space to make it more habitable and greener. In this case, the symbolic monument of Columbus, which commemorates past colonization, was transformed in a timely manner into a virtual tree that symbolized this «new colonization».
The tree is inspired by the oak, the most common tree in Catalonia, with approximately 100 meters in height and a large amount of vegetation and biodiversity. Around the trunk, there would be a continuous ramp that would allow people to access this new facility and its elevated platforms to enjoy the views of the city and the new park.
The intervention could be seen from two points near the statue where the information totems and the QR codes that gave access to the Augmented Reality display were located.