Location: Passeig de Sant Joan (Arc de Triomf Section / P. Mossèn Cinto Verdaguer), Barcelona.
Project: Redevelopment of Passeig de Sant Joan as a new urban green corridor.
Ownership: Barcelona City Council (PROEIXAMPLE-phase 1 / BIMSA-phase 2)
Project authors: Lola Domènech, Teresa Galí, CIMEX engineering (F1); Lola Domènech, SIGNALIA ENGINEERING (F2); Emily Rivers, Juliette Boulard and Anna Roque (F1); Alex Flores (F2).
Project managers: Jordi Burguera (F2); Carlos Loscertales (F2); Gabriela Ferrari (F2).
Completion dates: March 2011 (F1), December 2014 (F2)
Area: 31,455 m²
Material: Llosa Vulcano 30x10x10 cm and Terana paving block
Catalunya Construction Award 2015 in the category of Intervention in Existing Buildings.
GUIDING PLAN
The urban regeneration of Barcelona initiated in the 1980s focused mainly on dignifying this space. The Olympic city accelerated the execution of these projects, emphasizing public space. However, Barcelona’s urban fabric still has shortcomings. The struggle for urban green space, led by campaigns in the 1980s, seemed to have been relegated to the background, behind terms such as “efficiency”, smart or “technological innovation”.
In terms of green space rankings, the Catalan capital does not perform particularly well: densely populated metropolises such as New York or even industrial cities such as Rotterdam surpass it significantly in per capita urban greenery.
Passeig de Sant Joan was intervened in 1985 in Plaça Tetuan and in 1998 in the upper section between Avinguda Diagonal and Travessera de Gràcia, replacing pavement, restoring flowerbeds, installing playgrounds and a bike lane.
However, the history of Passeig de Sant Joan began in the 18th century with the construction of the Fort de la Ciutadella. Between the Fort and the current Carrer del Rec, a space remained that was urbanized between 1795 and 1802 and named Passeig de Sant Joan (although it did not coincide with the current location).
In 1859, Ildefons Cerdà proposed the 20 m street grid of the Barcelona Eixample, in which main avenues with a 50-meter section stood out, featuring a central roadway and sidewalks with double rows of trees.
Passeig de Sant Joan is one of these avenues, along with Gran Via, Paral·lel and Passeig de Gràcia. It was traced as a projection of that original promenade and became a 50-meter-wide and 2 km-long avenue connecting Ciutat Vella with Gràcia. Cerdà’s idea was to connect the district of Gràcia with Barceloneta, but this was not possible due to the presence of Parc de la Ciutadella and, above all, the railway tracks.
Decades later, another event reinforced the importance of this avenue: the 1888 Universal Exhibition, incorporating the Arc de Triomf as the exhibition gateway.
The sidewalks are functionally distributed: a 6 m zone with traditional 20×20 cm panot tiles for pedestrian access to homes and shops, and an 11 m area between sidewalk and roadway dedicated to vegetation (existing and new). This area varies depending on the activities of each section: seating areas, playgrounds, terraces, etc.
A system of native shrubs was introduced to enhance biodiversity and the soil ecosystem. The concept was to create three height typologies and three chromatic typologies to provide visual variability.
The continuous and coherent proposal following sustainable criteria has prevented green spaces from becoming urban interruptions, instead creating a continuous vegetation layer and reducing motor traffic.
Road lanes were reduced: from three per direction, one lane per side was removed, leaving one traffic lane and one bus lane on each side.
The smell of wet soil: permeable pavement versus hard pavement
Transferring the atmosphere of Parc de la Ciutadella to Passeig de Sant Joan could not be achieved superficially, but at its root: limiting vegetation in flowerbeds and paving everything else with concrete was not enough.
The use of a permeable pavement supports the project’s eco-efficiency philosophy. In Barcelona, 64% of the soil is sealed, which hinders rainwater infiltration.
Green is walked on, breathed, and smelled: it is not a contemplative green, but a livable one that changes with light and seasons.
The space is organized leaving 6 meters of free pedestrian circulation and 11 meters of green zone. The roadway is reduced and traffic is calmed, introducing a segregated bike lane.
The system adapts to each section without losing continuity.
Green and usable strip
The success of the solution lies in providing different uses within the space between facades and roadway, with a continuity that users can adapt to.
Adjacent to buildings is pedestrian circulation, followed by a gradual transition toward the green area.
This strip includes seating areas, playgrounds, terraces and other uses, always maintaining the character of a green zone through flowerbeds and permeable pavement with open joints.
Existing trees are preserved, and new alignments are added or replaced.
Permeable concrete pavement with 30x10x10 cm block. An innovative construction solution.
The permeable pavement is built on a granular base with prefabricated blocks and open joints of variable width. They are laid without mortar, with joints that can be filled with substrate or aggregate depending on use.
8000 m² of concrete paving block type Llosa Vulcano 30x10x10 cm in ash color were installed, with biodegradable spacers of 3.5 cm.
The 10 cm thickness provides stability and mechanical resistance for both pedestrians and occasional vehicle access.
Standard and Top Complete finishes are combined.
The biodegradable joint system Rasen Mohr solves different green joint widths.
The blocks contain recycled aggregate and durable pigments, making them environmentally safe.
In 2012, Passeig de Sant Joan was a finalist of the FAD Awards in the City and Landscape category.
29-Redevelopment of Passeig de Sant Joan (Tetuan – Arc de Triomf section, Barcelona). Lola Domènech Oliva
How to get there?
Take the RER A line and get off at La Défense station, or take Metro Line 1 to Esplanade de La Défense station.
Photographer: Uatxut
Bibliography: On site: Promenade de l’arche, La Défense. & Paris CBD La Défense strategic masterplan
