2. 39
In Seville, the city can flourish both under and over
a parasol.
For years Seville’s Plaza de la Encarnación was an arid,
dead spot acting as a car park between the city’s more
popular destinations and badly in need of revitalising.
Building six vast, interconnected timber ‘mushrooms’ or
‘parasols’ that shade the Plaza made it more hospitable to
businesses and visitors and transformed a derelict square
into one of the city’s most exciting landmarks.
The 30m-high parasols were inspired by the
vaulted domes of Seville’s cathedral and together they
form one of the largest timber structures ever built. Using
3D geometry, structural engineers worked to create a
network of timber beams to form this enormous frame.
We drew on expertise from across the world to come
up with a lightweight repetitive connection solution that
joined more than 3,000 flat pieces of timber together. The
reinforced micro-laminated wood is protected from the
elements with a waterproof polyurethane coating.
The result is a magnificent structure – some 150m
long, 75m wide and 28m high – which creates a meeting
place for local people and business folk and casts shade
on the area during the city’s hot summers. It works
across four intertwined levels, with a viewing platform
over an archaeological excavation site at basement
level, a farmers’ market on the first floor, a square
for cultural performances on the second and a restaurant
on the third. Most impressive of all is the roof,
an undulating walkway with panoramic views over
Seville’s old quarter.
While the project was being built, the Spanish housing
market was collapsing, so the team had to justify public
spending. The investment has more than paid off and
the parasols have had a major social and commercial
impact on the neighbourhood. The once-neglected area
is now lively, and empty shops and offices are full.
Most important of all, people are now proud to live
and work there.
“It was a neighbourhood of dim streets,
closed premises, no business and with
many empty houses. Now there are
no empty premises in the surrounding
areas, they are all occupied”
Dr Leandro Castro
Vice President, Cultural Association La Encarnación
Project name: Metropol Parasol, Plaza de la Encarnación
Designed for: Gerencia de Urbanismo – Ayuntamiento de Sevilla
Designed with: J. Mayer H., Sacyr Vallehermoso
