Pedreira Do Campo Urban Planning
PEDREIRA DO CAMPO URBAN PLANNING
M-Arquitectos
YEAR
2012
LOCATION
Azores, Portugal
TYPE
Landscape + Planning › Urban Green Space
We were given a proposal to develop a requalification project of Pedreira do Campo, currently considered a natural monument of the region.
Besides being a scenery of unparalleled beauty, Pedreira do Campo lies within an azorean geological context of undeniable scientific, geopatrimonial and pedagogic importance.
Bearing this in mind, we considered imperative the need to implement a solution that would preserve the landscape without compromising its identity.
Thus, we delineated two different, though complementary, routes. One, fully projected by us, was designed to cover a general view of the geology of Pedreira do Campo, and the other was integrated in an existing pedestrian route intercepting the intervention area.
The first route is made over a raised path, covering the irregular and rocky terrain, that is built with solid wood. This avoids an obtrusive occupation of the area and maximally reduces the impermeabilization of the terrain.
The intent here was to make the lightness of the route become an additional interest point. The organic form of its structure was also intended to provide and highlight a myriad of visual stimuli. All of this culminates with a viewpoint facing the ocean, located south of the intervention area.
We designed, moreover, the construction of lateral handrail, also built with wood, throughout the path in order to guarantee the physical safety of the visitors.
In addition to this, a group of information panels displaying content about pedreira do campo (in accordance to specific scientific guidelines) was placed at intervals along the handrail.
The solid wood utilized in the construction of the path, then, allows us to guarantee a good integration of the project in the surrounding scenery. By avoiding the construction of an imposing structure on the natural monument, we succeed in highlighting it.
The proposed urban study was in this manner developed with an aim to promote a qualified usage of the public space, from a perspective of valorization of the geological patrimony, by taking advantage of the landscape potential.
