Urban Canopy – Park of Les Glòries (2nd phase, Ambit tunels) by Agence Ter + ACPA + Meta Engineering

Built in 2025 / 2025 Built Landscapes / 2025 Entries / 2025 Public Projects / Spain /
agenceter.com + acpa.com.es/es/

Glories Square was designed by Idelfons Cerdà as the crossing of the three main avenues of the Barcelona Eixample: Meridiana, Diagonal and Gran Via. For many decades, this area has been a high intensity road junction and not the urban centrality envisaged by Cerdà. The construction of the underground tunnel of Gran Via, and the diversion of the rest of the traffic to the perimeter of this site has freed the space for the creation of the new park- square of Glories. Glories is today the meeting point of the green and civic axes of Diagonal (transformed into a soft mobility axis), the green axis of Sagrera- Ciutadella (Meridiana), and the historic traces of Carretera de Ribes and Rec Comtal (a medieval irrigation channel).

In Glories nature and city hybridize to create a park- square, that combines contemporary aspects such as biodiversity and climatic comfort and spaces for daily leisure.

The new urban space is made up of three strata:

• The subsoil that is densely occupied by transport and service infrastructure (subway, train and road tunnels and urban service galleries), and currently inert, to which we incorporate a fertile layer that becomes the starting point for the renaturalization of the site.
• The continuous ground plane, that solves the existing level differences without fractures, maximizing flexibility, connecting the neighbourhoods and facilitating urban flux.
• The green canopy, that continues the green axes that cross the site, favouring ecological connectivity and generating vegetal density and shade.
These layers are connected by a system of vertical nodes. The nodes are points of ecological or programmatic intensity in the park. There are two types of nodes:

• Biodiversity Nodes are refuges of nature in the city and are inaccessible to the public. These nodes increase biodiversity, act as sinks and diffusers of species and as stepping stones that strengthen the ecological connectivity of the green corridors that cross the park. The vegetation of these nodes is mostly native and related to the habitats of the metropolitan region of Barcelona.
• Activity Nodes house a wide range of activities such as children’s play, concerts, performances and sport, amongst others. The vegetation in these nodes is often exotic, since it is chosen for its expressiveness. Most program nodes can be closed at night, in order to guarantee security and durability, while preserving the continuity of pedestrian fluxes in the rest of the park.
The nodes contribute to the restoration of the natural water cycle in the park: underground water is extracted with wells and directed to a sunken reservoir for irrigation. All the surface runoff of paved areas is directed to the nodes and rain gardens where it is reinfiltrated into the ground in order to refill the aquifer, thus closing the whole water cycle on site. The vegetal density of the nodes contributes to the creation of microclimates with lower temperatures in the summer, providing comfort to the seating areas concentrated around the nodes.
The project preserves the blueprint of the Diagonal in the park where, exceptionally in the city, it is dedicated only to pedestrians and bicycles. The relevance of this axis is marked by the “Water Mirror”, a water feature composed of a 70m long flat granite monolith that also contributes to the climatic regulation of the park. The axis of Meridiana is divided into two paths that recover the historic Carretera de Ribes. The axis of Gran Via is less obvious in the park but allows for the continuous passage of pedestrians and bicycles.

The whole park has a surface area of 14Ha. The first phase (“Ambit Clariana”) of 4Ha was completed in 2019. The second phase (“Ambit Tunels”) of 4,3 Ha and the integration of the park with the tramway line and the public transport hub (bus, subway, tramway) have been completed in 2025.

In “Ambit Tunels” there are the following Activity Nodes:
• The Dynamic Node: a play area for children with a surface area of more than 1900m2 that is universally accessible and inclusive. It is composed of two elevated rings that offer a privileged view of the park and multiple play opportunities.
• The Immersion Garden: a garden of xerophytic plants (cacti and other succulents), organized in terraces that surround the subway entrance and create a unique vegetated entrance to the park.
• The Agora Berta Caceres: a giant bamboo garden, that is as secluded and calm space for daily use or a backdrop for special concerts and events.
• The Shade Canopy: a structure that creates a climatic refuge while the trees grow and is a central meeting point of the park.
• The Fresh Node: a water play area for the summer months.
“Ambit Tunels” also has six biodiversity nodes providing multiple habitats: four multi layered forest nodes, a shrub node (mediterranean maquis) and a mediterranean meadow node.

• Other landscape architecture offices involved in the design of the landscape:
Agence Ter Landscape architects + ACPA Ana Coello Paisatge i Arquitectura

• Other credits:
Other design firms involved: + La Invisible Lighting Design Lab Studio (lighting consultant) + Irbis (environmental and sustainability consultant) + Desert City (Xerophytic plants consultant) + EDL Creative Water (fountains consultant)