An Ecological Landscape Approach to Revitalize (hu)Manzanares River in Madrid

Urban river systems are often unhealthy. Managed as a resource for human benefit - for the supply of fresh water, for flood mitigation and the disposal of wastewater - rivers suffer from this technological approach and become ecologically degraded.

Take the Manzanares river which runs through the heart of Madrid. It starts and ends in two different and very rich natural protected areas, Cuenca Alta del Manzanares regional park upstream and Sureste regional park downstream. Between them, the river flows through the city as an unfortunate turn of events. The urban pressure and, more specifically, the M30 inner ring road running close to the Manzanares, have marginalized the river as a concrete-sheathed canal, severely damaging its natural integrity and ecological well-being in the process.

The M30 project began in 2005, its aim being to better integrate the inner ring road in the city by relocating part of it underground. Its most strategic zone is the six-kilometre-long stretch parallel to the river. Skirting the city centre, its new location underground has returned the freed area above ground to the river and to the inhabitants of Madrid.

This final-year project seeks to show how design can contribute substantially to the quality of both river and city at the macro scale by responding strategically to developments set in train. In so doing, it lends substance to the idea of 'healing by design'.

The new scenario with an underground M30 brings an abundance of opportunities to restore and maintain the condition of the site, returning the lost ecosystem to the city centre and generating a healthy and attractive environment. In this sense, the analysis, planning and design proposal are rooted in a metaphor that draws a parallel between the river's well-being and human health. It tackles the healing of the river the way a doctor cures a patient.

Several serious 'disorders' affecting different 'organs' of the river have been diagnosed and then treated using the (hu)Manzanares river healing plan. This project takes as its blueprint the Ecological Network method (Alterra, 2003) to analyse the ecological fragmentation brought on by the expanding city. From this grew the proposal for an ecological corridor along the riversides that can stitch together isolated parts of the ecosystem, improve the biodiversity and become the spine of a blue-green network flowing through the metropolis.

The design itself is inspired by the performance of human organs and intelligent forms of cellular human tissue. Neuronal System and Digestive Flora are two examples that show how health and well-being can be recovered along the (hu)Manzanares river park.

Place of education: Wageningen Universiteit | Specialization: landscape architecture | Tutors: Jusuck Koh, Sven Stremke