Located in the Ensanche de Vallecas area, this ecological boulevard was created between 2004 and 2007 by the firm Ecosystem Urbano, formed by Belinda Tato and José Luis Vallejo, with a view to making a public social space and bioclimatic avenue.
The Ecobulevar occupies an area of 550x50 square metres and is composed of three circular structures, known as "air trees", around which a meeting and play area for locals has been created. At the same time, these structures, separated along the promenade, enhance the circulation and cleaning of air.
Each tree fulfils a specific function:
-
- The climatic tree, located in the northern zone, has 16 lobes around its perimeter arranged in such a way that they allow more light to pass into the northern zone and prevent light from passing into the southern zone. In this way, it provides shady spaces that guarantee more comfortable temperatures, especially in summer, reinforcing its action with water misters.
-
- The play tree is located in the centre of the boulevard, where the Nautilus playground is, opened in 2018, with several pieces of equipment and slides.
-
- The media tree, located in the south, is a space that can host all kinds of shows: live music, storytelling, etc.
Although currently the three "trees" are still standing, the initial idea was that the use of these structures would be temporary, since when the problems for which they were designed (lack of social activity and poor climate conditioning) had been corrected, the devices should be dismantled, creating clearings in the forest that would be created by planting trees all along the boulevard.
The project was awarded the AR Prize in 2007 by the London Architectural Review, highlighting its "strong sense of environmental responsibility".
