Is it possible to imagine a Vallès corridor which does not depend exclusively on private vehicles? The most obvious opportunities are to be found in the existing rail routes and the possibility of improving their interchanges, as well as in the integration of the different urban elements. The possibility of transforming the B-30 into a bus rapid transit (BRT) system could help to change the mobility model of the Vallès.
B-30 Hospital General junction
Area 4 includes the Vallès corridor, the B-30 from the intersection of the AP-7 with the River Ripoll, in the municipality of Barberà del Vallès, to the point where the B-30 rejoins the AP-7, at the height of the road to La Salut. The main junction that needs to be resolved is the link between the B-30 and the Hospital General de Catalunya, a potential metropolitan centre that is close to an environmental connector and two railway lines. The current configuration of the B-30 and the AP-7 as segregated roads prevents this infrastructure from fulfilling its function as a longitudinal corridor structuring the territory. At the same time, residential areas and areas of economic activity are located with accessibility by private car in mind, but do not follow a conventional urban composition and almost all have the backs to this path.
Connecting strip
Team: BALBINA MATEO SEGURA, JAUME MARLÈS MAGRE, PROIECTUM CIVITAS ENGINYERIA CIVIL SL
The new Argilera park is the connecting space that links Rubí and Sant Cugat del Vallès. A fragmented urban development is proposed, following the logic of the existing urban fabric, and includes different uses and densities. The new urban fabrics and the intermodal stations revolve around the Argilera Park, a new metropolitan centrality formed from two connected local centralities, linking the intermodal spaces, the new uses, the urban fabrics and also the metropolitan green infrastructure. The Argilera centrality connects two railway stations with a public ring, which also gives access to the park and the proposed new buildings, constituting a true ecological and biodiverse centrality.
The Hospital General station is located on a public platform above the railway tracks and creates a large square in front of the hospital, which reinforces centrality and provides access to different modes of public transport.
The jury values the fact that the proposal assumes the fragmentation of the urban fabric and recognises the green corridors characteristic of El Vallès, to prioritise them as ecological and social connectors and make road infrastructures more permeable.
Productive hinge
Team: Mediaurban + Leku Studio + VAIC Mobility + CASAMOR/GABAS/RIBAS + Ecsa Enginyeria
The large square of the intermodal station reconnects Sant Cugat del Vallès and Rubí.
The proposal involves breaking the linearity of the motorway and includes three main passages under the road plus a secondary one, which connect the surroundings through public areas that articulate the natural spaces. These connectors act like a rhizome: they modify the topography at strategic points to progressively recover social and ecological connectivity.
The main junction of the intervention is the large metropolitan square generated around Hospital General. The new public space is designed as a large equipped park with several uses and a large interchange with two railway lines, the B-30 bus rapid transit (BRT) and the metropolitan cycle lane network.
One of the highlights in the eyes of the jury is the location of the interchange junction, creating a central space that favours connections between municipalities and modal interchange.
Two continuities
Team: ESPAI LUR SCCLP + MINUARTIA Estudis Ambientals SL + INGENIEROS ASOCIADOS SA
Two strategies: ecological and urban continuity. At the territorial level, the strategy focuses on the structuring of green infrastructure, and specifically on the recovery of the ecological connectivity of the Collserola-Obac corridor. In terms of urban continuity, the proposal reinforces the connection between municipalities with three metropolitan avenues: the Barcelona road passing through Cerdanyola del Vallès and Barberà del Vallès, the Rubí road and the BP-1413, and the new Avinguda de Can Fontanals, after Carrer Josep Trueta, which are accompanied by four urban development sectors that integrate productive and sustainable uses, compatible with residential use.
The strategic location of the semi-underground intermodal station in the form of a bridge makes it possible to create a large square at the level of the metropolitan avenue, which reinforces the centrality of Hospital General. This new centrality is an opportunity to densify uses with tertiary and residential activities, increasing both connectivity and demand for public transport.
The jury considers the territorial structure to be very positive because it prioritises metropolitan ecological connectivity, especially the proposed interpolar road and the proposed location of the intermodal station.
Intersection junctions
Team: Col·lectiu CCRS + José María Gómez Molina + Víctor Adorno Bárcena + Miquel Martí Casanovas
Intersection junctions are areas of centrality that bring urbanity closer to the metropolitan avenues. The territorial strategy focuses on the creation of five transversal urban axes that guarantee urban continuity. The B-30 is conceived as a combined road that reinforces access to central areas at strategic points: three intersection junctions. In the spaces between junctions, an intervention is proposed on the urban edges and on the margins of the B-30 to integrate it with the urban fabric.
At the General Hospital junction, the project proposes a new intermodal space and the intensification of uses to create a new centrality, as well as to free up the spaces that make up the future ecological corridor of the Alous Stream.
The jury positively values the territorial strategy of this proposal, as it identifies the priority points, guarantees the ecological connectivity of the Alous Stream and coherently positions the metropolitan interchange.