RIVER BESÒS  (BARCELONA)                                                                                                                    JANUARY 2014
STUDY OF LOST SPACES IN A HIGHWAY INTERSECTION

During a four-month design module, part II students were asked to use an alternative design process  structured upon a sequence of weekly tasks using contemporary methods  to create an architectural project .

The chosen site is a complex area.  It is a place where the intervention of an architect must work in collaboration with other professionals - historians, sociologists, geographers etc. It is a place of both confluence and boundary, where the river Besòs divides the districts of Nou Barris, Sant Andreu, Sant Adrià del Besòs, Santa Coloma and Montacada i Reixac, and where large-scale infrastructures occupy large swaths of the urban fabric. More than ever, our economical limitations force us to rethink the use of our cities major infrastructures. We must build on what exists - unfinished structures, obsolete buildings etc.

The objective of the study seeks to establish new bridges between previously divided territories. We must consider bridges not only as physical structures but elements that stitch areas together, helping to forge stronger ties between communities and strengthen wider communications networks.

Preliminary work groups were asked to study one of seven sites along the River Besòs. Groups began by collecting historical documents, cartographic and demographic data, statistics, surveys, maps and newspaper articles in an attempt to understand the past and present situation of the area. Then Individually, students were asked to explore ideas to integrate hybrid facilities and infrastructures into the urban fabric of that particular area, which would have to meet certain criteria:  solving problems of accessibility, noise pollutions and connectivity, whilst generating public space and finding new uses for existing buildings and infrastructures.

This particular proposal focused on the highway intersection of Nus Trinititat, Barcelona. Large-scale structures such as these are built to strengthen transport networks and connect areas together but they also dissect the landscape, leaving behind a number of large obsolete and isolated spaces which never form part of the wider urban fabric. The aim of the project was to give these spaces a new identity and integrate them into a new urban landscape which would be built on the banks of the river and act as a bridge between previously divided communities. The project included new public and private facilities, recreational spaces, commercial units, parking, bike lanes, walkways and bridges.