Calvia Coastal & Tourist Development

The municipality of Calvia is situated on the southwest end of the island of Mallorca.

It has nearly 60 kilometres of coastline and it concentrates more than 50,000 tourist beds and as many second homes which totals for more than 50% of the tourist accommodation on the Island. The proposal is based on the geographic system of “cavities” and “convexities” that characterizes Calvia’s coast. The design strategy aims to recover and update the development pattern of the irst tourist settlements where the “cavities” of the coast hosted tourist enclaves while the “convexities” were maintained as landscape reservoirs. This pattern is the basis of the vivid image that characterizes the Majorcan coast, and an example of intelligent and sustainable development of the waterfront. The project also includes a model of sustainable mobility and eight tourist enclaves, each with its own unique identity and tourist proile.

Arrecife Waterfront & Marina

Arrecife is the capital of Lanzarote (Canary Islands). It has a unique geographical location formed by a group of rocky reefs, puddles and islets that constitute and make its coastal front singular. The most interesting part of its history is the efort to communicate the islets and urbanize the “puddles”. The bridge “Puente de Las Bolas”, built in the late sixteenth century, and the pool of San Gines are some of the best examples to do this.

Our intervention strategy consolidates this pattern of growth along the waterfront and the port. The project consists of the extension of two pedestrian pathways along the coastal front, creating new pools and communicating the existing islets.

The resulting loop generates urban spaces where new uses are placed. The crossings of the loop generate nodes that host kiosks, meeting places and water-taxi stations.

Gran Tarajal Fair Complex

The current Gran Tarajal Fair is on the beachfront, between a promenade and the socalled Barranco de Gran Tarajal (the largest ravine on the Island). The project aims to refurbish the functional, material and accessibility conditions of the current space. The strategy includes opening the perimetral wall to make it more permeable to transit and redesigning the stage area and the kiosks to accommodate toilets and a cafeteria.

The design maintains the existing cubic volumes that house the stage and the kiosks. The intervention adds to each one a stand in the lower part, compacted earth walls in the intermediate, and a green roof with a wooden pergola that provides shade and support for the plants. This pattern is used for the auditorium and the kiosks. It aims to create an abstract urban landscape dominated by stands and landscaped pergolas that gives all buildings a similar and neutral character, regardless of size and functional program. This new space should invite spontaneous and daily use by neighbours and visitors, complementing the more formal cultural events throughout the year.

The new fair complex and its surroundings include a drainage solution based on natural infiltration systems that avoids compromising the public space from flooding with heavy rains. The project consists of natural materials such as pine laminated wood treated for exteriors, compacted earth walls and roof gardens. The resulting platform is fully accessible and is built with raw materials such as stabilised dirt and local stone.

UD Las Palmas Training Complex

UD Las Palmas is the only football team at the Canaries playing in the premier league. Paradoxically, its training area occupies a former sand quarry and needs an urgent renovation of its facilities. The strategy of the new Brand training complex aims to transform this highly degraded space into a garden of local species. So that, the players will enjoy a pleasant natural atmosphere of trees and plants. Moreover, this strategy will also help to promote the city and its privilege weather, when opponents’ teams come to the Island. The development of this plan encompasses a full set of solutions that includes eco-retaining walls, the intensive use of sustainable timber, the recycling of water, the use of SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems), and the underground-integration of buildings into the landscape. The reduction of waste and reuse of material has also been an essential feature of the sustainable parameters of the master plan.