266 Burgos Master Plan

The AVE Line Madrid-Paris

Additionnally to linking Burgos to the European high speed train network the AVE connection will bring the city closer other Spanish cities: Madrid, Bilbao and Valladolid, etc.

The Arrival of the AVE in Burgos

The arrival of the AVE will be important to the city’s structure: the new rail tracks will run outside the city and the new train station will be located on the periphery of the present urban area and the existing tracks will be turned into a boulevard. This new street, which crosses the entire city, will enhance the qualities and value of its adjacent neighbourhoods.

The Task

The task given to Herzog & de Meuron was to give form to this urban planning transformation in the wake of this historical infrastructure project. We were asked to adapt the urban plan to the new circumstances. Our Masterplan was developed under the incentive of the liberation of the land presently occupied by the train tracks (with particular interest in the area around the old train station, which will become a natural extension of the city centre, and the surroundings of the new station which will become a gateway to the city). In addition, we were commissioned to design an eleven-kilometer-long boulevard.

Which Urbanistic Tools Do We Apply in the Master Plan?

Setting out from the existing physical and socioeconomic reality, we have proposed the following arguments for future development:

Density and Public Space

Burgos has a high urban density which creates an urban atmosphere and an intense public space that we perceive as a specific local culture. In addition, density also means more efficient infrastructure, shorter routes, and a more economical use of land. Due to these reasons, we have minimised the surface dedicated to building in the new neighbourhoods. In the neighbourhoods that arose in the last twenty years following very low density patterns we are proposing that density be increased at a later stage.

Flexibility and Mix of Uses

The building sites and profile are defined in such a way that their use or implantation need not be predetermined. Therefore the ultimate mix of uses should respond to the market requirements and to the changes in living standards.

The Monuments

The Camino de Santiago is the urbanistic essence of the city: a sequence of historical monuments connected by a route. We underline the presence of these monuments enlarging the public space around. We have also identified some specific sites along the new boulevard that can serve as points of orientation and where new iconic architecture should be built. The result will be a third linear system for Burgos, alongside the river and the Route to Santiago.

Nature

Nature retains an impressive presence in Burgos. Important streets follow the path of its two rivers, a chain of forested hills, capped by the old castle, reaches into the heart of the city. The hills that flank Burgos are part of the backdrop panorama of Burgos.

Nature plays an essential role in the new neighbourhoods too. The boulevard will be a new urban greenbelt that reaches deep out into adjacent neighbourhoods. In the residential neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city, powerful natural geographic circumstances have been treated as design elements that create an own identity for the future neighbourhoods.
Herzog & de Meuron, 2006