HEY THERE IS A RIVER BEYOND!
LOCATION : CALLE ANICETO MARINAS , MADRID

Magerit - ‘land rich in water’. This is how the Arabs called this area on the central plain of the Iberian Peninsula, close to Sierra de Guadarrama, where King Phillip II of Spain later established the royal court. Later on, it grew into the big city that’s come down to us. The importance of the river in the collective imagination is also represented in the paintings of Francisco de Goya. In his work the author testifies how the citizens of Madrin in 18th century met on riverbank for celebrations to eat, drink, laugh.

Nowadays, the image that Madrid gives to its visitors is not a city with an important water resources which could be enjoyed by the tourists or citizens. The goal of the design thesis is to reconnect the city with its river. The further research is focused on the benefit of the river regeneration for the urban environment. How the north part of the river could become a destination for the citizens and tourist in Madrid?

The proposed solution is to introduce a sequence of events to animate the riverfront and form a linear park along the edge, making it appealing for the people of Madrid. I am exploring the relationship between space, event, movement and emotions and how it could be used to form the promenade along the river.

The grid is used as an organizational structure of the site to unify the design. The essential of the design is the combination of variety of activities that will encourage new attitudes and perspectives and will change the vision of Manzanarez river.