Rec Comtal Park
Sant Andreu, Barcelona 2014
Rec Comtal Archaeological Park. Project
- Architect: Carles Enrich Studio
- Collaborators: Blap (landscaping)
- Client: BIMSA-Barcelona City Council
- Surface area: 20,000 sqm
- Images: Carles Enrich Studio
The site of the project includes 20 hectares of public space containing archaeological remains that explain the 2000 years of the history of water supply in Barcelona: the Roman aqueduct, Rec Comtal, and the remains of Sant Andreu mill. The main strategy is to uncover and showcase the remains and restore the memory of the place, and offer a way to view the archaeology while enjoying a renatured public space within the city.
The project for the park is organised around a diagonal axis that follows the course of the irrigation channel. This becomes a journey through three different areas: a space for agriculture, with its urban allotments, recovering farming activity beside the watercourse; the archaeological interpretation area, along the path as far as the traces of Sant Andreu mill and the Roman aqueduct; and, finally, a place to sit and rest in the cool shade of the riverside vegetation.
