Paseo de la Estación, a captivating urban mosaic for Elche

Reurbanization of Station Avenue (Paseo), Elche

How to regenerate the image of Elche through a public space? How to design an emblematic public space without limiting its functionality?

As part of the assignment after winning first prize in the Mirador competition our office was commissioned to redesign the area around the current Paseo de la Estación (Station Avenue). This was possible because we did not consume all the budget in the ‘iconic” element (the Mirador) and managed to liberate more than 3 Mill € for the very-needed regeneration of the public spaces.

Until the 60s the Paseo was a public space where people liked to walk and meet. In the 60s it was transformed into a 3-lanes road and it lost its character as public space. We reorganized and deviated the current traffic of the Paseo to allow for its pedestrianization, and only allowing the public buses and the bicycles to circulate. The round about at the end of the Paseo will be transformed in a large public square, highlighting the future Mirador Wheel and the trains station.

The design tries to be as simple as possible in order to not cut any potential of use of the space. We aim to reunite the two parks of palm trees (right and left of the Paseo) and we design an urban mosaic portraying the eight most beautiful palms in Elche. The chosen material are ceramic tiles, typical from the area.

The Paseo aims to regenerate the image of the city through a rich sequence of public spaces. The rich and captivating view of the urban -scale mosaic will be fully appreciated from the future Mirador Wheel at the end of the avenue and through Google Earth. The site was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.

---------- The project got cancelled after the change of government in the elections of 2011 where the left-wing party lost against the right-wing party for the first time in the history of democracy in the City.