Ordinacion urbanistica litoral de Las Palmas

Waterfront locations of interventions

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the main city of Gran Canaria, the main island of Canaries archipelago, a Spainish enclave in the Atlantic ocean.

Hotels and residential areas in the north-wester part of the island and a new waterfront suitable for cultural and leisure programs, were the requests for this competitions.

We supposed small changes at low density and environmental impact, with partially hypogeum developments. All around a nucleus of services (reception, hall, shops spa, sport, etc.) stand a variety of units as luxury “widespread hotels and residences”, which will benefit of the poetry of environment, location and place. Links among the various blocks create a system of pedestrian paths and join the hotel premises to the beaches below. More downhill a promenade starts from "las Canteras" area (high hotel density) and joins the new area (low density of hotels, luxury). Along the promenade a refreshment area as meditation place has been created, in order to admire the ocean. The beach will be arranged and equipped to welcome the new tourism demand in accordance with luxury and minimalism of new dwellings.

We thought to use exterior fringes as main urban episodes, capable of activities like learning, practice, sport, wellness, leisure, comerce, sightseeing, fishing or other public activities. These fringes represent not only the sharp limit between the earth and the sea but also are suppliers of new uses and new life-styles for those activities lying behind. The mesh of moles shapes a system that can be perceived from anywhere in order to be a point of high visibility services (also in terms of image): just a “system”. Upon the pre-existing bases, a new structural curved mesh will sustain and include the planning episodes, giving life to dunes among which pathways and activities take place. Green, water, lights, pedestrian and suitable for (electric) carts paths, temporary exbitions and fairs will replace the all-concrete appearence. Some existing buildings will be converted to new uses. The moles can be also used as “entrance to new artificial isles” which will represent episodes for activities and new entertainments with very high expectations in terms of touristic presence.