Entity that promotes it: Alcalá de Henares City Council
Entity type: Public administration
Contact regarding the action: CIVITAS ARQUITECTURA E ENGINEERING S.L. Plaza Puerta de Madrid 4 Local 1 cv Andres Saborit, 28802 Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). t: 918 789 596 / www.civitasarquitectura.es
Scope of action: Built environment
Description of the performance / Activity:
A public space of a purely pedestrian nature has been designed, with four spaces or areas differentiated in their characteristics and use, which are distributed in the area depending on their best position in relation to the accesses and buildings of different uses (housing and social facilities). , educational and sports) that make up the urban context adjacent to the park:
- Green area, taking advantage of and extending the existing trees, arranged to the west and north of the area, in front of the residential buildings and 6 floors that border it, which acts as a visual and acoustic separation filter between the homes and the rest of the area. It is a space of itineraries and sinuous and organic orography, which is divided into four areas. Apart from the above, there is a group of smaller green flower beds, accompanying different walks in the park, and creating spaces or separation bands with the adjacent building.
- Activity and games area, located to the east of the area, in front of the wall of the Miguel Hernández school, includes different spaces for play and recreation for different groups and age groups: area with a healthy circuit for seniors, a play area de calva, an inclusive play area for children from 1 to 10 years old, and a play area for children between 5 and 12 years old, of exploration and challenge. This area has an intentionally rectilinear layout, which is divided into four areas.
- Meeting plaza area and celebration of shows, arranged in the center of the area, among the previous ones, within which there is a pergola space, a dirt space available for the celebration of the traditional bonfire of San Juan, a geyser fountain, a space available for the implementation of a future kiosk, and a play area on wheels (skateboard and pumptrack).
- Parking area, arranged at the entrance to the area from the José Caballero road traffic street, with a capacity of 105 spaces, of which 9 are reserved for people with disabilities.
ELEMENTS TO HIGHLIGHT ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA OF UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY AND DESIGN FOR ALL.
Paving, sanitation and drainage system
The Projected Juan de Austria Park is characterized by being, by virtue of the urban conditions of the area and its surroundings, a space designed for pedestrian use, with adequate equipment for the use and enjoyment of all segments of the population, including people with disabilities.
To respond to issues related to accessibility and the environment, it has been decided to implement a SUSTAINABLE URBAN DRAINING SYSTEM, or SUDS, consisting of having a continuous filtering paved surface made of prefabricated concrete tiles, which allows water from Rain drains into the ground (directly or through lamination ponds), passing through paving and pavement, both permeable, allowing it to return to the subsoil aquifers, without interrupting the water cycle.
Permeable pavements are considered Urban Green Infrastructure, due to the environmental services they can offer, highlighting their multifunctional character as “Cool Pavements” (for their ability to mitigate the urban heat island effect), sound-reducing pavements (for their capacity to absorb noise in their pores), photocatalytic and sustainably manufactured floors (since with the appropriate additives they can cope with atmospheric pollution, and are manufactured with a high percentage of recycled material) and/or non-slip floors (due to their greater surface macrotexture, which, together with its ability to evacuate water from the surface, minimizes the risk of slipping).
To all the previous environmental benefits, it is worth adding the advantages that draining permeable paving offers from the point of view of accessibility, by avoiding having to have runoff slopes, grates or scuppers for collecting water, or discontinuities in the pavement. tree pit type, being able, in exchange, to have continuous paving on hard, non-slip surfaces.
The use of permeable draining pavement extends to all areas of pedestrian use, whether residential areas or activity areas. This is the case of the activities and games area, located to the east of the area, which includes different spaces for play and recreation for different groups and age groups, such as the area with a healthy circuit for seniors or the games area. inclusive of children from 1 to 10 years old. The provision of continuous, non-slip pavement allows universal use of these areas, which are generally treated with sand that makes access impossible for wheelchair users.
Pathways and tactile pavements
Special interest has been placed in the design of indications and signage for the use of the park by people with visual disabilities, which are specified in the following points:
Execution of special tactile-visual paving that contrasts in color and relief with the general pavement of the park:
Indicative routing bands of the routes and their direction that facilitate the transit of these users through the park and guide them, facilitating the memorization and assimilation of the space.
Tactile pavements provide warning or proximity indicators to danger points in order to avoid accidents, such as proximity to a pedestrian crossing or the crossing between routing lanes.
Execution of raised curbs on the borders between garden areas and pedestrian areas, allowing white cane users to touch the curb, guiding them along the route of the park and avoiding accidental trips and falls.
The benches located on the perimeter of the large garden areas have been set back from the curb line so as not to interfere with the general traffic of people. The route around the perimeter of the garden area has been given continuity by means of routing bands that are an extension of the curb and are a reference to the white cane user who wants to continue without stopping in the rest area.
Provision in various places of braille signs with information on the different areas and uses of the park.
The choice of a draining pavement and its incorporation as filling for tree pits, level with the pavement of the rest of the park, avoids the existence of discontinuities in the routes, favoring a comfortable use of the space.
Accessible and inclusively designed equipment
With the aim of facilitating the use and enjoyment of the park by all people, regardless of their age or abilities, a wide variety of inclusive equipment has been designed and selected:
The exercise area for seniors has been equipped with a variety of equipment for the development of physical exercise, in a healthy circuit, accessible to people with disabilities, who will be able to exercise under equal conditions, with a firm, hard and durable floor covering the entire surface. Non-slip, with continuous rubber cushioning flooring in areas protecting the exercise equipment.
All the equipment provided is accessible, and allows the performance of exercises to train different body parts, in groups or individually, with elements specifically designed for use from a wheelchair.
The play area for small children and inclusive play has play equipment for the entire age range between 1 and 10 years, accessible to children with different abilities, which allows play under equal conditions, with a pavement available on the entire surface. firm, hard and non-slip, with continuous rubber cushioning flooring in play protection areas.
All the equipment provided is accessible, and includes sensory panels and spring seesaws for children, and seesaws, flush carousels, swings of different types and multiple games with slide, catwalk and net.
Play area for older children, with play equipment for challenge and exploration of children who have a certain degree of psychomotor development and expertise, between 5 and 12 years old, which takes place on a firm, hard and non-slip pavement surface, with shock-absorbing pavement continuous rubber in playground protection areas.
There is a 20 meter long zip line equipment and two multi-function games with different game experiences (sliding, balancing, jumping, climbing…through different elements).
At the northern end of the meeting square, in contact with the tree-lined plant bed to the north, there is a pergola about 5 meters high that covers a space raised 45 cm above the level of the square. This space is conceived as a platform for sitting (either on its perimeter or on a bench at the back of it), as a space enabled for holding activities on it (talks, assemblies, summer cinemas), or as a stage for the celebration of events (concerts, rallies…). This space has a side ramp that allows access to it by users in wheelchairs or with reduced mobility.
The drinking water fountains have two taps at two different heights, to allow children and people in wheelchairs to use them.
In the center of the meeting square, there is a set of water geysers, fixed and mobile, arranged on technical pavement flush with the surface of the square, which has, on the one hand, an ornamental character, and on the other, a playful Thanks to the level pavement, it allows it to be used by the entire public, without discrimination, in the summer period.
A living space has been reserved for people with reduced mobility who use wheelchairs or walkers or for baby strollers. This 1.50m diameter space is located at one of the ends of the permit benches of the large garden areas, and its objective is to generate inclusive rest areas and keep the pedestrian circulation bands free, allowing them to be in line with the rest of the people sitting on the adjacent bench. This reserve space is also located within the canine enclosure, to allow the use and stay of this space to all users with dogs.
On most of the concrete benches, wooden seats with backrests and armrests have been executed, following the design criteria for everyone, increasing the comfort of the benches especially for older people.
Reservation of adapted parking spaces
The park has 105 parking spaces, of which 9 are reserved for holders of the parking card for people with disabilities. These reserved places have been located following criteria of proximity to public roads and access to adjacent educational and sports centers.
Accessible public toilets
To the north of the park, next to the senior exercise area, there are two public toilets differentiated by sex. Each toilet has three cabins, one of which is accessible with a toilet and adapted sink.
Related information:
images of the park