Navarcles Skateplaza

Despite a low budget, this skateboarding facility transforms an old sports area into a public park. The project departs from the fact of street skateboarding being a common and compatible reality on streets and plazas and their public space design. A field study recognizes which plazas and public spaces have entailed Barcelona to become the international mecca of this urban side of the sport, after the ‘92 Olympics city transformation and its innovative design policy of the so-called “plazas duras”. The project features real “street” obstacles inspired by some of these iconic Barcelona designs. It’s conceived as a PLAZA, a SKATEPLAZA, built with standard public space materials such as pedestrian pavements or massive granite ledges that subtly enclose the perimeter for skateboarding. The project also structures its immediate surroundings, beyond of what’s strictly designed for skateboarding: Ramps and banks turn into soft green slopes that deter unwanted corners or graffiti, avoiding vertical facings or protective handrails. A line of trees provides shadow, defines the park space and a new façade for the industrial surroundings. The higher level of the Skateplaza serves as a stage towards the park, for occasional city events or the skate festival organized annually by the local skaters.