Can the B-20 be turned into a metropolitan avenue? The Montgat road junction is a particularly complex area: it is crossed by the environmental corridor of the Font Stream and has the potential to be a modal interchange.
B-20 / C-31 / N-2 junction
Area 1 covers the C-32 and the B-20 from Montgat to the Trinitat junction, and also includes Passeig de Santa Coloma, Rambla de Sant Sebastià, the Fondo neighbourhood and Avinguda d'Italia to the side lane of the B-20. The C-32/B-20 from Montgat to the Trinitat junction has a very different configuration in each of the sections depending on the territorial context it crosses. In the easternmost area, the territory is characterised by the geography of El Maresme, with valleys containing streams and ridges perpendicular to the coast that meet the segregated road, which is interspersed with tunnels and flyovers to guarantee the connectivity of the territory. It is made up of three separate sections: the first, which is underground, allows the continuation of the residential fabric between Tiana and Montgat. The second section passes through sparsely populated urban areas, and the side lanes offer improved accessibility. And in the third section, the road has a more urbanised stretch beyond the Montigalà tunnel, with side lanes exclusively for private vehicles, ending at the complex Nus de la Trinitat interchange.
The point at which the C-32/B-20, the C-31 and the N-2 converge is the chosen junction for which the participants have developed the concepts proposed for the area. At present, this road junction has no other function than to distribute the flow of private vehicles. But it is a point of particular importance due to its potential function of regulating traffic access to the central core of the metropolitan area.
The point at which the C-32/B-20, the C-31 and the N-2 converge is the chosen junction for which the participants have developed the concepts proposed for the area. At present, this road junction has no other function than to distribute the flow of private vehicles. But it is a point of particular importance due to its potential function of regulating traffic access to the central core of the metropolitan area.
Active matrix
Team: Batlleiroig
This project focuses on the continuity of the green infrastructure and public space. The proposal involves taking advantage of the existing infrastructures, which are highly valued continuities, to provide the metropolis with a real active matrix that will become the seed of the metropolis of the 21st century; a green metropolis committed to the environment and to people.
On the one hand, the Font Stream is reinforced as a central connecting axis offering accessibility for pedestrians and bicycles, and on the other, three urban centres with new uses and intermodal public transport spaces are proposed. A park & ride car park is proposed in one of these spaces, which in turn gives continuity to the urban fabric above the infrastructures.
This new public space, which offers a new central and highly complex urban area, connects different pedestrian routes, other central urban areas and several urban parks, such as Tramvia Park or Riera d'en Font Park, and thus reinforces the urban structure between Montgat and Tiana. This proposal stands out in the eyes of the jury because it integrates existing infrastructures with the urban and natural environment.
Between the sea and the mountains
Team: West 8 + Estudi Ramon Folch + CENIT - Centre d'Innovació del Transport (Grup de Recerca de CIMNE-UPC)
Recovering the structure that originated the streams and paths of El Maresme in order to connect the territory between the sea and the mountains. In this way, the project aims to heal the wounds of the territory and recovering the historical routes that created a network through the valleys. To overcome the barrier caused by the road infrastructure, a new centrality is suggested, superimposed on the C-32, which accommodates new uses: a park & ride car park for 1,600 cars, amenities and commercial uses on the most urbanised façade. The existing suburban line train station is relocated to facilitate walking connections from the new urban centre.
The displacement of the station also enables the environmental restoration of the Font Stream, which is consolidated and forms a true green corridor that reinforces the ecological and social connectivity with Tramvia park. This creates a heritage route that links different points of scenic interest in El Maresme.
The jury has positively valued the commitment to create a single element of centrality and interchange next to Montgat hill.
Between two waters
Team: Eduardo Rodríguez Villaescusa (ERV arquitectes associats) + Ourania Chamilaki + Víctor Díaz-Asensio García.
Natural corridors are integrated into the urban fabric and the water cycle is promoted. The landscape is naturalised within the city with green corridors that integrate the streams and paths for active mobility, enhancing their role as social and ecological connectors.
The proposal views the B-20 as an artificial ecotone that links ecosystems and becomes a resilient path that connects the social fabric with the dynamics of the territory and links the city and the natural landscape. The project proposes new uses for the road, a green and civic axis made up of crossroads with interchange junctions between different types of transport. This metropolitan avenue also provides access to the local roads that cross the C-31 to the seafront. The new centrality is located in a strategic place which incorporates various uses into the urban fabric, establishing a space for energy production and waste management, while reinforcing the circularity of nearby urban networks and services.
The strong point of this proposal is the environmental vision at the territorial level and the coherence of the location of the transport interchange.
Via Maresme
Team: Bruno Remoué & Associats
The Maresme ring road, Avinguda del Mar and the seafront: three structural pillars. This project proposes that the C-32 and the B-20 become a metropolitan corridor, which, after developing the margins to improve urban integration and the bus rapid transit (BRT) system, will be transformed into the Maresme ring road. The C-31, Avinguda del Mar, acts as a metropolitan avenue that integrates the tramway and the interurban cycle lane, while limiting speed. Finally, the railway is buried under the seafront promenade so a tramway can be added above, and the old N-2 is quietened to become a metropolitan street. A strategic intermodal space is proposed, with an interchange building with sufficient urban density to bring together various transport uses and services; an iconic building that stands out from its surroundings and acts as a gateway to the metropolitan public transport network.
The jury positively assesses the commitment to burying the train underground, transforming the seafront promenade with a tramway and making Montgat hill the centre of gravity of the proposal.
Hub & Down
Team: Juurlink en Geluk + Fiol Arquitectes + Jeroen de Vries + Raadhuis Advies
New centralities interconnect metropolitan access points with neighbourhoods. This proposal bases the strategy on a system of seven interchange points distributed throughout the territory, one of which is the Mobility Hub, an essential hub for reducing the use of private vehicles. The mobility strategy is complemented by urban regeneration actions and new urban developments. The city thus grows at metropolitan intersections, through denser urban centres, following two strategies: first, by intensifying the urban fabric around bus rapid transit (BRT) stops and enhancing the urbanity through new uses at ground floor level. The second is by enhancing the façades of the open spaces and integrating them with the landscape of the green corridors.
The barriers caused by road infrastructures are resolved with architectures that extend the urban fabric over the segregated roads, while at the same time they are endowed with a rainwater storage function to enhance the complete water cycle. Metropolitan avenues also function as filter strips and enhance active mobility.
The effort to integrate existing roads into the urban fabric is seen as a positive point, a firm commitment that is repeated in two points of the territory.