The Forum Park - Auditorium Park

The Southeast Coastal Park with auditoriums is part of the infrastructure that was created in Barcelona for the International Forum of Cultures in 2004.
In accordance with the requirements of the assignment, we had to level a 12-meter elevation difference at the northern edge of the site, create a vast public space and a seaside swimming pool. The assignment also included two open-air auditoriums and green areas. Our design is based on exploring strategies for creating a comprehensive landscape through artificially created topography. The organization of space is inspired by the form of sand dunes, a natural model typical for many coastal areas. The dunes represent a form of organizing matter with a low degree of internal structuring, as the sand waves are shaped by the action of the wind. In our case, the dunes serve several different functions: they allow us to shape a pair of auditoriums; they create diagonal ramps along the twelve-meter trench between the city boundary and the coastal promenade, ensuring that their slope allows access for wheelchair users; they provide a windbreak against the wind blowing from the southern sea side and enable the growth of certain plant species. The resulting topography arises from functional and environmental aspects and possesses a geometric complexity typically found in natural "picturesque" landscapes. However, this landscape follows a strict arrangement and thus obscures the traditional distinction between the rational and the organic.