Building the warm side of sustainable life.
Lab for Planning and Architecture (LPA) is a leading planning and design firm, focusing on the sustainable and organic development of southern regions and territories—the so called subtropics that feature semi-arid and Mediterranean environmental regimes. LPA has a deep commitment to the specific (economic, social and environmental) potentialities of the subtropics, which are deployed in line with the principles and protocols of the philosophy of eco-design thinking.
The Firm is structured into three divisions that enable the integration of strategic, design and execution phases of the urban development process. With the understanding of urban environments as a complex symbiosis of (ecological, political, infrastructural, psychological…) systems, LPA provides services in the fields of strategic development, master planning, urban design, infrastructures and landscape architecture.
LPA has accumulated extensive experience in the practice of subtropical urbanism and its subsequent urban and landscape configurations: waterfronts, tourist destinations, eco-resorts, public spaces, recreational spaces, outdoor commercial areas, friendly pedestrian precincts, mobility infrastructure… The firm has received accolades in various diverse national and international competitions.
With offices in the Canary Islands and Madrid, LPA is engaged in projects in the two subtropical strips that run around the globe, where regular collaborations with local partners and consultants are established.
LPA is a group of professionals who share a common vision and team-work methodology. We do believe that as we better internally organize ourselves, we will have the best conditions in order to provide creative solutions to our client’s challenges and goals. This firm-like organization warrants the combination of both creativity and accountability.
LPA has a sister non-profit organization called Twenty Degrees Institute (20ºi). This new concept is devoted to research and speculative thinking on the sustainable urban development of the subtropical south.
A new topography that integrates pedestrian accessibility, existing palms and permeable surfaces.
Julio Navarro Swimming Club is located in a privileged area dominated by green areas and parks. The project consists of the renovation of the existing pedestrian connection between the two existing swimming pools; adapting it to the needs of people with physical disabilities and reduced mobility. These aspects together with the landscape integration of the existing palms and trees have been the main driving logics of the proposal. The design consists of a triangular mesh that articulates the main components of the project: the linear pathway of staircases, the zig-zag ramps and the triangular mesh itself. The result is a coherent topography of triangular planes in which the resulting landscape is more than the sum of its functional components. The use of net stones, along with gardens and draining materials, means that more than 60% of the project´s components are permeable surfaces.
An urban strategy that aims to transform Arrecife into the first Capital of a Biosphere Reserve.
The island of Lanzarote was one of the first territories to be granted Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Coinciding with the twenty anniversary of its declaration, the Biosphere Reserve´s office has decided to step forward and transform its capital Arrecife into a more nature-integrated city. In this way, Lanzarote consolidates its compromise with its natural conditions integrating the territory and its urban centres as a one living system. The first draft of the proposal includes a re-arrangement of the mobility system based on two existing roads that liberate the neighbourhoods from most of their motor traffic. This mobility system is complemented by the so-called Caminos del Agua (Water Pathways) which are the result of restoring the functionality of the former ravines, expanding their use with pedestrian and bike pathways. This new water-pedestrian green-infrastructure crosses transversally the city connecting the inner city and its communities with the waterfront.
The project addresses nearly 40 kilometres of coastline, including east and west sides of a peninsula. It also includes a sustainable mobility system as an alternative to the existing one. The solution incorporates two systems: one functional (heavy traffic) and another more oriented to leisure-wise enjoyment (light and public traffic). Functional mobility incorporates the existing by-pass and the major existing roads of the city. Leisure-wise mobility favours light and alternative traffic, including bicycles, trams and pedestrians. Ten well-equipped parks are placed along the waterfront, as a result of the crossing of urban and natural corridors. Each park seamlessly combines urban programs and facilities, transport hubs and open spaces and parks. By exploiting the urban possibilities of outdoor living and mass enjoyment of the coast, the project aims to condense and deploy the subtropical potential of Las Palmas de GC.
Maspalomas Beach is one of the most renowned beaches in Europe and one of the main tourist attractions on the island of Gran Canaria. The aim of the project is to provide services for the beach users, including staircases, showers, benches and lockers. The design integrates the functional program in a wooden topography that replicates the shape of the surrounding dunes, permitting unexpected uses. Thanks to digital fabrication techniques, the resulting “dune” does not compromise the viability of its construction and provides a complete removable solution. Besides the wooden beans and floors, the materials used include natural filtering systems for showers, integrated mini-solar panels, salt-water plants, and light foundations; all compatible with the beach environment.
A garden-like football training complex that restores the biodiversity of the site.
UD Las Palmas is the only football team at the Canaries playing in the premier league. Paradoxically, its training area occupies a former sand quarry and needs an urgent renovation of its facilities. The strategy of the new Brand training complex aims to transform this highly degraded space into a garden of local species. So that, the players will enjoy a pleasant natural atmosphere of trees and plants. Moreover, this strategy will also help to promote the city and its privilege weather, when opponents’ teams come to the Island. The development of this plan encompasses a full set of solutions that includes ecoretaining walls, the intensive use of sustainable timber, the recycling of water, the use of SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems), and the underground-integration of buildings into the landscape. The reduction of waste and reuse of material has also been an essential feature of the sustainable parameters of the master plan.
