Sendes d’aigua
A place to connect and reconnect.
Challenge
The Valencia Desembocadura Park will complete the landscaping of the old Turia riverbed, which began 35 years ago. The project, for which an international ideas competition has been called, will cost 36 million euros and will affect 25 hectares of land from the end of the City of Arts and Sciences to the sea. It is a comprehensive and complex proposal that will become the longest urban park in Europe.
STRATEGY
Sendes d’Aigua is the last stage of the Turia Garden, a large green park where water is the guiding element of activity. It is a place for people to connect with nature and a recovered ecosystem that gives it life. A place to connect and reconnect, for tranquility and activity, for the wild and the cultivated, to discover and find oneself.
A constant murmur accompanies the activity and reminds visitors of the origin of the park. The proposal seeks to integrate water into the city, manifesting itself in different forms throughout the route.
The route begins with two rivers that intersect, embracing the adjacent green spaces, with fauna and flora predominating in this first section. Further ahead, the rivers join to form the mouth of the river at the sea, and different walkways emerge that connect both riverbanks, the neighboring neighborhoods, and the city.
Throughout the entire park, paths run for people to explore and discover. Paths for runners, walkers, scholars, and cyclists. Paths for seniors, children, and everyone. For you and for all.
SOLUTION
First as a river, with its own ecosystem. Later as a marsh, where water predominates over land, creating a landscape that reminds us of some Valencia places such as the Marjal del Moro. In the final stretch, the river dissolves into water paths, and an artificial beach appears, reminiscent of the Nazaret beach where many Valencians spent their summers.
The estuaries and cork islands that grow between the water channels harbor a wealth of fauna and flora that make it possible to create outdoor classrooms: bird observatories, walks through aromatic spirals, or visits to nest houses and insect hotels.
Different uses are programmed throughout the park to promote activity, moments of encounter, exchange, and relationship between people and the natural environment. Enjoy a concert in the Agora, the main square. Children’s play areas, meditation and relaxation areas in the shade connected to kiosks. Stands where outdoor activities can be carried out. Urban gardens to promote environmental education.
With the introduction of new technologies, opportunities for work are created to serve citizens in environmental education and biodiversity indicators. Additionally, they act as a focal point for interacting with the natural and technological environment.
