Mirador del Palmeral
Beatriz Ramo
In 2009, our office won the International competition for the Mirador del Palmeral, in Elche, Spain, with the simplest proposal, yet the most controversial project the office had ever undertaken.
The two-phased competition received a lot of attention, not only because renowned firms such as MVRDV, SANAA, Foster, Abalos+Sentkiewicz, and Lapeña&Torres were invited to participate, but because we a young and “unknown” office won the competition eventually—and that even with a strategy, rather than a design.
The Mayor of Elche organized the competition with the requirement that the project should “provide the city with an EMBLEMATIC element to promote the Palmeral of Elche”. This raised the challenge of designing a humble icon: and icon that deviated the attention to something else, which is a true oxymoron.
The cultural landscape of palms that constitutes the Palmeral of Elche dates back to the 10th century, and extends over approximately half of the area of the city. Due to the loss of its original use, it is becoming more difficult to integrate the Palmeral into city life. There is not a single viewpoint from which the system of huertos can be seen and understood.
We proposed a wheel for Elche. The wheel is a strategy. The wheel is resistant to fashion, style, and time. It is a timeless emblem. Its assembly is completely reversible (if one day it might not be useful anymore). As the wheel does not consume the total budget, we can also invest in the creation of adjacent public spaces and the renovation of the railway station. The wheel is an intelligent and rational structure: representative and beautiful, powerful and transparent.
The Wheel is the perfect union between FORM and FUNCTION.
We trusted the simplicity of a Ferris wheel to meet all the requirements of the brief and more demonstrating that architectural thinking is stronger than even architecture itself.
Planning partners: Consultant Team: ARUP España, Project director: Ignacio Fernández Solla (Associate Director) Coordinator: Fernando García Colorado, Structure: Patricio García Hernández, Kayin Dawoodi; Sustainability: Ramón Rodríguez Cabezón (Associate), Albert Hassan, Su
Client: Ayuntamiento de Elche (Elche City Council)
Categories: Landscape and Garden, Historic Preservation, Recreation and Tourism, Urban Development, New Construction
Project Gallery
The Mirador will allow tourists and inhabitants to understand the Palmeral of Elche for the first time as a system of huertos, and recognise its strong presence in the city.
The Wheel is the perfect union between FORM and FUNCTION.
The Wheel of Elche, a “dismountable” icon.
The platforms at the new railway station receive natural light through the patio.
The Mirador and the Palmeral will be the image of arrival in the city. To explore the full potential of the intervention, STAR proposes a common building, housing the Mirador and the Railway Station.
Mirador square at night: As the initial budget is not fully consumed, STAR proposes the creation of a big square in front of the new Mirador Station.
Beatriz Ramo NL
https://st-ar.nl/
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