This landscape intervention reclaims the unique heritage site of La Hoya for the city of Almería. La Hoya is a gorge located on the edge of the historic quarter, between the hills of the Alcazaba and San Cristóbal, and crossed by the Wall of Jayrān. During the High Middle Ages, it was occupied by a neighborhood that was later abandoned, turning into an agricultural space that over the centuries evolved until its decline, becoming a forgotten and expectant vacant lot.
Historic landscape restoration, environmental regeneration and spatial reimagination are intertwined to define this proposal which aims at the rediscovery and reinvention of this place. The act of revealing the story of this landscape in order to become part of the palimpsest of its evolution has been the main premise of this project.
The design was already there; in the hills that embrace this place, the wall that outlines its concave shape, the fortresses that guard it, the dike that contains it, the valley that widens it, the agricultural terraces that geometrize it and the network of channels that irrigates them, the archaeology that lays hidden below the surface, the escarpments and stone outcrops, the tones of its earth, its resilient vegetation, its wild fauna, its arid atmosphere and it broad blue sky. Our task was merely to tend to the features that we found, accentuating them by means of a soft intervention that is both minimal in its impact and highly specific. The park which has been imagined, the Mediterranean Gardens of La Hoya, is a landscape that comprises a monumental setting, an archeological reserve, a sanctuary for flora and fauna in the center of the city, a celebration of the semi-arid Mediterranean climate and a reflection of the culture of water of Almería.
We have collaborated with the supply of several Longo benches equipped with LED lighting on their lower contour, some of them accompanied with wooden chairs and benches to meet the accessibility criteria, as well as Morella Bin litter bins.
Photografies: Fernando Alda
