El Mirador del Palmeral de Elche (Palm Grove’s Viewpoint)

Honourable Mention

Role: coauthor with Alberto Gomez / conceptual design & documentation

Location: Alicante, Spain

Year: 2009

Client: international competition promoted by the city of Elche

This two-staged competition received a lot of attention because renowned firms such as SANAA, MVRDV, Foster, Abalos+Sentkiewicz, and Lapeña & Torres were invited to participate. The competition required the proposals should “provide the city with an EMBLEMATIC element to contemplate and promote the Palmeral of Elche”. International Jury: Bjarke Ingels, Carme Pinós, Manuel Ocaña and Beth Galí. Our submision received an Honourable Mention.

We did not want to limit ourselves to offering a biased view of the UNESCO heritage Palmeral of Elche. We decided to look with our feet and hands and send the point of view to hell. Our proposal extends over the city, restoring buildings to offer unique viewpoints on the surface that appear along the journey. And as the main viewpoint, a symbolic element catalyzes the appreciation of the palm and the city.

It is a public space. Due to its strategic location between the palm grove of Elche and the old city, and the large number of public uses that are scattered and disjointed in its surroundings. The entire area and the current adjoining car park are planned as a large public square that will become Elche's assembly hall and will welcome visitors. And it also incorporates the new construction, which is a simple mesh box that defines a public space and gathering point from where to enjoy the view.