Spanish architecture studio BCQ has unveiled its ideas to enhance a Barcelona bridge, including pollution-dissolving concrete, planted walls and paving that glows in the dark.
Barcelona City Council asked BCQ to upgrade the road bridge that spans the Avinguda Meridiana, a dual carriageway that brings site visitors into the city from the north, to flip it into a new gateway for the Catalonian capital.
The aim is for the framework – recognized as the Sarajevo Bridge – to provide a more pleasant knowledge for pedestrians, via greater lighting and improved air high quality.
“The renovation and improvement of the Sarajevo Bridge is element of a series of actions to resolve priority for pedestrians, with the aim of it becoming a meeting stage among the two Trinitat neighbourhoods,” explained BCQ.
“It permits much better interaction amongst pedestrians and autos, supplies the space with vegetated arcades and adjustments the picture of the bridge to distinguish it as one particular of the gates of Barcelona,” additional the team.
Related story: Italy unveils long lasting Milan Expo pavilion that will “purify the atmosphere from smog”
The bridge’s existing surface will be replaced with photocatalytic concrete – a self-cleansing material that also neutralises pollutants in the air, by absorbing nitrogen oxides and converting them into harmless substances.
The technological innovation – which is also set to be a feature of the Italian pavilion at the Milan Expo 2015 – can be applied to white or grey cement. The pollution it removes will simply be washed away by the rain.
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Within this concrete, photo-luminescent elements known as glow stones will give a source of ambient light. Equivalent to the glowing roads getting trialled in the Netherlands, these additions are non-radioactive and non-toxic, and work by absorbing solar vitality throughout the day and gradually releasing it following dark.
Foliage will be provided by green walls and pergolas covered in climbing plants. “Plant walls enhance the quality of the urban landscape and give continuity to lately produced new green locations at each ends of the bridge,” stated the studio.
Photovoltaic solar panels will also be set up to energy minimal-power LED lighting fixtures.
Project credits:
Architect: BCQ
Team: David Baena, Toni Casamor, Manel Peribáñez, Maria Taltavull
Consumer: Ajuntament de Barcelona
M&E engineering: AIA Instal·lacions Arquitectòniques
Structural calculations: Javier Monte Collado
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