Quatre Camins junction

The urban planning recognises the structure of the landscape and enhances the value of the Cervelló Stream. The secondary valley of the Cervelló Stream is structured between the Ordal mountains and the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park. The proposal recognises the unique landscape along the stream, the planning of which enhances connectivity, accessibility and metropolitan centrality, as a gateway to the urban centres in the Ordal mountains.
The N-2 is transformed into a scenic road, a balcony overlooking the lower Llobregat Valley, like a backbone that channels several lines that connect the valley longitudinally: the railway line, the road (N-2/BV-2002), a new walkway for pedestrians and cyclists, the agricultural path and the right side canal of the Llobregat. The Quatre Camins junctions is designed as a balcony-square giving access to four paths leading to a neighbourhood with innovative uses, to the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park, to the intermodal station and to the Cervelló Stream, which acts as an axis of ecological and social connectivity.

The urban development plan is highly valued, especially the mix of uses proposed for the area around the station.

The Quatre Camins junction will become a large square. The road junction connecting the N-340 and the BV-2002 is broken up and becomes a crossroads, a large square that acts as a meeting point and an activity interchange which links to the intermodal station. The project proposes a new reticular structure that provides a more urban façade on the metropolitan avenue and a more discontinuous and heterogeneous riverfront made up of small-scale and self-managed productive plots, recreational and sports areas and environmental restoration areas.

The project proposes the Quatre Camins square as the buckle that connects a double belt: the Baix Llobregat belt, which links the municipalities and river areas with a local road network, and a belt for the municipalities of Ordal, which is linked to the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park and reorganises the connections between municipalities.

The jury praises the firm commitment to create a crossroads at the same level as the station and the road system model.

The edges of the urban areas no longer act as borders and become connecting spaces.
The approach of this proposal emphasises the synergies between the productive uses that sustain life and the landscape of the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park. Road infrastructures cease to be a barrier and become a channel for the cycles of productive and ecological processes. 

The project will reconvert the junction into a productive area of innovation and other uses to enhance natural cycles and activate the urban and environmental ecosystem, with an intermodal station that establishes a new centrality in a highly accessible space and also represents a landmark for the new productive landscape model. The project proposes the recovery of historic plots of land and the technification of agriculture, while also creating productive spaces compatible with other uses and different types of housing. 

It is a rather daring proposal that aims to recycle existing routes, while totally transforming the junction by introducing an iconic building that provides an intermodal solution.

From Quatre Camins station to the four parks of a resilient valley. The transformation of the Quatre Camins interchange, the elimination of lanes and road access ramps and the implementation of a gentle topography open up the railway station to the metropolitan avenue and link the four landscapes of the valley: the urban park, the agricultural park, the river park and the Ordal mountains park. The plots are wide and the grid of blocks is flexible and modular according to the needs and opportunities of the territory, so they can be adapted to seasonal variations. The resulting idea is the coexistence of the city, nature and infrastructure to give coherence to a distributed centrality.

The transformation of infrastructure is envisaged as a phased process with more targeted interventions until the 2040 milestone is reached, at which point the plan is to intensify the programme and create synergies between all the proposed areas: Quatre Camins station, a productive park with clean industry activities coexisting with the agricultural park, a km 0 hub and all the connections to the four parks.  

The jury values the territorial fit of this proposal and the formalisation of some very interesting interchange points.

The road junction is brought back to ground level so that it can be penetrated by green infrastructure. A system of green rings (loops) is proposed, interlinking the territory to facilitate active mobility, renaturalising spaces and recovering the relationship with natural spaces: the river, the mountains, the streams and the allotments.

The N-2/BV-2006/BV-2002 becomes a metropolitan avenue that integrates trees, public transport and a public space for active mobility. The N-340 is raised to the level of the N-2 and reinforces the connection with Molins de Rei and the Quatre Camins intermodal junction, segregating motorised traffic from pedestrians and bicycles.

The new junction is the focal point of this green infrastructure, a new socio-ecological and multifunctional pole of attraction. Splitting the traffic at height will restore mobility on foot and by bicycle, enhance natural ecosystems and minimise the negative effects of climate change. The junction becomes a central hub for the urban centres of Pallejà and Sant Vicenç dels Horts. The landscape proposal and its resolution are highly valued by the jury.