Vallmora Park + Insect Hotel

The Heart of the Park becomes a great equipped walkway and balcony-viewpoint of the city of Masnou.

The Project’s aim is to guarantee the connection between the two sides of the city within the park by recovering the street track that was foreseen by the General Plan. The project recovers this idea and transforms the new street layout into a wide promenade aimed to be the new park center. The proposed landscape will run along the East and West direction of the city. This direction allows the design of a walk along the disposed topography creating two distinguished levels: the lower terrace and the higher terrace.

The higher terrace, located on level +59.00, will have a sandstone plaza with an amphitheater, a kiosk and a garden filled with aromatic flowers. Moreover, further along the edge, trees will be placed with benches and streetlights to generate rest zones providing shading. The project foresees connections between the city and the new park along its perimeter. On the other hand, the second level will have paths connecting the urban environment with the Hrt of the park.

The Insect Hotel is an artificial shelter and a hibernating place for insects and arachnids built with natural materials. It consists of a divided structure into several sections with nesting facilities. Vulnerable species such as the solitary bee can settle in to develop and reproduce in a secure space. The hotel is a practical and economical way to help preserve the endangered insects due to human activities like farming and deforestation. Many of this species play a key role in the ecosystem for its pollinating activity and for being parasite predators.

The Insect Hotel solidifies biodiversity of a space. In the Parc Vallmora, the Hotel improves the quality and the health of the park because the butterflies, bees, dragonflies and other little beings are beneficial for the plants. The presence of daytime butterflies works as a good suggestion of it.

Also, this is a great pedagogical tool as it allows children and adults to observe closely the live cycle of some creatures which are difficult to find in nature. It also allows collecting data about some little known species for scientific purpose. Therefore, it is ideal as a city park attraction.

Masnou City Council

Authors: Enric Batlle, Joan Roig – Architects
Team: Iván Sánchez, Clàudia Amías, Sergi Roca -architects/ Dolors Feu - Agricultural Engineer And Landscape Architect
Collaborators: SBS - Mep Engineering
Builder: Coynsa 2000 S.L