Parc Diagonal Mar

Llull, 362 Phone: 010 www.bcn.cat/parcsijardins

About

The Parc de la Diagonal Mar is a must-see for visitors because it epitomises the new Barcelona and is quite unlike any other city park. This ambitious contemporary work encapsulates Barcelona’s desire to become a city at the forefront of originality and sustainable architecture. The architectural practice of the husband and wife team of Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue reached the pinnacle of innovative and sustainable architecture with their design of the Parc de la Diagonal Mar in 2002. Located in the new Forum Barcelona, on a disused factory site, this 14-hectare park is divided into seven large areas. Each area was designed to evoke different sensations. A large children’s play area, a raised walkway over water, the lake with sculptures which spray out water, the curved tubular structures, the giant central plaza, etc, are clearly defined areas which are linked by a common element: water Water that flows through the raised tubular structure that spiders its way through the park. This moving line occasionally coils around suspended plant pots which are reminiscent of Gaudí’s organic architecture. In addition to being the linking element of the jigsaw puzzle of the park, the tubes also convey groundwater which irrigates the gardens. A technological and decorative wonder which fits in with the sustainability criteria that formed the basis of the design of the Parc de Diagonal Mar, full of ecosystems and where nature is controlled by man.