The project, part of the Imagina Madrid program, starts in January 2018 through a series of co-design sessions in which residents of the neighborhood expressed that water belongs to the recent memory of the Park, and the pond, now empty, is a symbol of its absence. Composed by four temporary micro-interventions: Lights to know the origin of the water we consume, clouds to know the flow of the Jarama River, ramp to recover the territorial memory, and Paint to recover the memory of the pond, the interventions invite reflection on the environmental value of water as a resource for our consumption or as a habitat for other species, but often contaminated.
Description of project by C+ arquitectas
The Descents is an interactive infrastructure that restores an abandoned pond for public use. It works as an environmental mediator: making the links between the pond and water visible, it connects us with the site, the territory, its memory and its resources.
Composed by four temporary micro-interventions, it communicates the water levels of the dams that provide water to that area of Madrid in real time. It also enables the visitor to sense the water levels of the river through their own skin as though bathing in the water that once circulated there, and to walk through the cracks where water has been filtering over the last decade. Through this trans-media environment, the infrastructure immerses the visitor in multiple landscapes of data, pollution and archaeology.
But it does not only reports on environmental conditions, it also responds to them. It responds to the climate, to the seasons and to the hours of the day. The intensity of its experience depends on the water volume of dams and rivers, turning off when there is draught. Therefore, the use of the pond depends on the needs of the environment (and not the other way around). Each micro-intervention is also a maintenance and repair strategy. Through water, light and paint it lightens and humidifies it, facilitates its access and it provides a new image.
The Descents is an invitation to reflect on the politics of environmental entities, as a resource and as a habitat for other species, often very polluted. Through an immersive and playful experience of data, it aims to contribute to producing environmental awareness and change in daily practices.
The project, part of the Imagina Madrid program, starts in January 2018 through a series of co-design sessions in which residents of the neighborhood expressed that water belongs to the recent memory of the Park, and the pond, now empty, is a symbol of its absence. For this reason, the micro-interventions colonize the pond for public use and, at the same time, recover, the cultural, territorial and environmental memory of La Vaguada through the new presence of water.
Each intervention is related to a descent that reveals the past and current links with water, from reservoirs, rivers and supply pipelines of the 17th century, to the microfiltrations generated in the last decade, suggesting new ways of relating to the water. In addition, the interventions invite reflection on the environmental value of water as a resource for our consumption or as a habitat for other species, but often contaminated. The project aims to contribute to the common construction of an environmental conscience and bring about changes in our daily practices.
Lights to know the origin of the water we consume: Where does the water we drink in Madrid come from? It descends from the clouds and accumulates in the reservoirs of the mountains. The color and shape of the lights represent the four reservoirs that are mainly supplied by the Pilarneighborhood: The Villas, The Atazar, The Vado and Pedrezuela. The pulsations of the light translate in real time the state of the water level of each one of the reservoirs. If there is no water, the lights remain off.
Does knowing where water comes from help take care of its consumption?
Clouds to know the flow of the Jarama River: The Jarama River descends from the TheVado reservoir to Madrid. When it has sufficient flow, the nebulizers are activated adding steam to the empty pond, improving its environmental conditions and encouraging fun and play, which were always part of the use of the rivers and that area of La Vaguada. The density of the cloud translates the flow of the river in real time, turning off in case of risk of drought.
Does feeling "inside the river" contribute to caring for the animals and plants that inhabit it?
Ramp to recover the territorial memory: A ramp-step-stair facilitates the descent to the pond. The ramp is located in the closest location to the Water’s Journeys, the historic water supply network created in the 17th century. Wood from urban infrastructures of several public spaces in Madrid has been reused for its construction. The metallic patterns that decorate its surface have been made in collaboration with El Enredadero, a cultural centre for teenagers in La Vaguada. The patterns reproduce the skins of the fishes that inhabit the rivers that, from the reservoirs, supply water to the El Pilarneighborhood and whose habitats are highly contaminated.
Does remembering what there was many years ago in this space (before the construction of La Vaguada Park) makes us connect with our past and share its history?
Paint to recover the memory of the pond: By cleaning the pond its history began to emerge. The micro descent of water that seeped through the cracks in the bottom of the pond is now highlighted by the paint. The loss is thus commemorated through a celebratory image that invites new uses.
Does visualizing fissures help celebrate and use the pond with imagination?
