a+t architecture publishers

The intervention undertook the partial covering of the highway and implied an important reduction of the noise pollution. The Gran Vía had turned into an urban motorway flanked by two cumbersome façades along 2.5 km. These facades are the visible face of very densely populated neighbourhoods with few public spaces. These neighbourhoods have suffered high noise levels due to traffic for thirty years.

Now, high speed traffic runs at the lowest elevation. Local traffic runs along the two roads above the motorway, where resident parking is allowed. A tram line runs below the new platform and, finally, a small service lane borders the building entrances.

The platform design allows for pedestrian routes that border public plazas. Walkways cross the Gran Vía every 100 m, the habitual rhythm of crossings on the grid of the Eixample of Barcelona.

The new plazas that arise on both sides of the Gran Vía serve as a place for social interaction, walking or sitting and have been furnished with elements specifically designed for the project. The great length of the intervention required the space to be divided into consecutive rooms, with specific furnishings that differentiate them. Besides, Different centres of sport activity mark the lateral roads next to the housing buildings.

Photos taken by Javier Arpa.