Category Urban – architectural

Location A Coruña. Ría del Burgo

Population 245,293 inhab.

Strategic site 42.06 ha - Project sites Area 1: 6.743 sqm / Area 2: 6.863 sqm

Site proposed by A Coruña City Council

Owner(s) of the site Public and private

Commision after competition Inclusion in the team that will coordinate the participatory process to design tools and plans. Possible participation in an afterwards project

Team representative architect

How can the site contribute to the adaptable city?

The general objectives with respect to the adaptable city are to improve accessibility, resolve interface conflicts, intercon-nect service systems, the integration into the overall territorial structure of traditional rural townships and settlements, com-plete the network of green or pedestrian routes; regenerate gaps caused by the obsolescence or abandonment of land used for certain activities.
The proposed site is sensitive to all these factors and requires treatment.

City strategy

In response to these objectives, in the coming years the envisaged major urban transformations that affect this part of the city, specifi-cally the proposed site, will be: widening the bridge over the Burgo estuary, the entry point of the N-VI national highway; the reuse of the former railway line in As Xubias for a commuter rail system; the extension of the seafront promenade to the Pasaje bridge, comple-ting the municipal system; the interconnection of the general healthcare facilities in and around the area, in Oza, on both sides of the As Xubias road.
Faced with such major transformations, a broad analysis within a public participatory process is required to generate urban planning initiatives and strategies based on existing resources.

Site definition

This estuary frontage, with the powerful or consolidated presence of various urban situa-tions, is bounded to the north by the Oza township and the prominence of large healthcare buildings (hospital, school, psychiatric centre), and to the south by the zone around the "da Pasaxe" bridge, at the start of the Burgo Estuary promenade, part of the adjacent Culleredo municipality.
At various points, this frontage is accessed from the dense da Pasaxe Avenue, a trunk road of vital importance as it provides direct access to the three entry points to the CHUAC, A Coruña's public hospital complex. The territorial split caused by this major artery is offset by the east-facing aspect of all the settlements along this frontage.
Underpinning this estuary frontage, it is important to note the railway line, now used infre-quently, which links the city to the north of the province and also to the connection nodes with the rest of the country's northern regions.

Future of the site in relation to the site family and Adaptability

In this site's study area, an analysis is required of the interconnection of the various parts of the health care facilities -urban and district- located in the area and its environs; the interface between this part of the city (As Xubias) with the sea (Burgo Estuary), seeking to form a connection more than a separation (the nearest point of Santa Cristina Beach lies within the A Coruña municipality); the peaceful coexis-tence of this part of the city with the future commuter railway line, transforming this physical obstacle into a new connection; maintenance and renewal of a traditional township linked to the fishing indus-try, where there are also several manor properties (Pazo do Pasaxe, Casa Grande do Pasaxe); the readaptation of the void resulting from industrial abandonment on the site of the former Celta cannery, near the Pasaje Bridge, whose expansion will take up part of this plot; the opportunity to create and or-ganise another small buildable area between the Maternity Hospital and the estuary.

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