Medellín received a great gift for its 335th birthday: another international award

The Santiago de Compostela prize was awarded to the Campo Santo de Villatina Park, a project of the city Mayor’s Office, designed and developed by the EDU (Spanish acronym for Urban Development Corporation).

It is the third time the mayor of Medellin, thanks to the Urban Development Corporation is honored with this award. In 2008 and 2009 Medellin received the second place. The Santiago de Compostela Prize on Urban Cooperation, established by the Consortium of Santiago in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation Development (AECI, Spanish acronym) and the General Direction for Foreign Relations and European Union of the Xunta de Galicia, recognizes and encourages public initiatives to create and recover areas of cohesion in historic cities of Latin America, achieved through the transformation and improvement of urban areas.

The criteria for selecting the winner are not only those related to quality, from a strictly architectural or urban point of view, but those taking into account the higher quality of life of people, environmental improvements or the balance between tradition and innovation of urban planning, among others. This is the third participation of the Urban Development Corporation in this award, as in the past two years it received the second place. For this release, there was a competition among 33 proposals, which were evaluated by a jury comprised of senior architect Xerardo Estévez, as Chairman, and the other members: Nuria Sanz Gallego, from UNESCO, the engineer Manuel Herce Vallejo and architects Maria Luisa Morales Cerrillos, Javier Ramos Guallart, Francisco López Morales, and Juan Luis Isaza Londoño.
 

The Campo Santo of Villatina EcoPark is a pilot project within the Central eastern Master Plan, and it is set in an area of complex topography and highly symbolic for the recovery and assessment of Campo Santo, the area of the landslide occurred in 1987, when over 600 people died. Its design and architectural features are the creation of the Urban Development Corporation. From reading the geological built, historical and social features, a series of adaptations ranging from multiple areas in a symbolic tour of the Campo Santo are proposed, to integration with adjacent public space elements such as park neighborhood and adjacent sports courts, and through symbolic aspects like spatial, urban and economic systems with natural elements from the semi-rural area of Cerro Pan de Azúcar.
 

Located in the Central eastern neighborhood of Medellin, Villatina, inside the edge of the city and at the base of the Cerro Pan de Azúcar, the Campo Santo of Villatina EcoPark intends to recover the invasion and make the community aware of the danger of living in high risk areas, to remember the families and victims of the disaster with a series of vertical elements (Totems) to act as stone plaques located in areas where topography permits, and evoking the ritual of memory.


The proposed reorganization of the existing circulation generates two channels of mobility, one that ensures the slopes suitable for disabled guests and a fast circuit with stairs. In addition, the chapel has been renovated in an area for meeting multiple citizens with vehicular access on the carrera 17 and a parking lot for 10 vehicles, comprising an area of tables and fountains in the park.
 

It also has a space for sports activities complemented by the South Terraces and Playground; the view-point mural, created by the community to commemorate the tragedy of September 27, 1987 was also restored. Inside the park there are two runoffs that were covered by the landslide and now are going to be reopened to have an adequate water management across the park, with a series of characteristic wetland gardens.
 

So the tree planting proposal seeks to integrate the various areas of the cemetery, so far fragmented and disjointed. On the western side there is a plastic wall and the North Terraces in turn connect with the existing playground; this helps to contain the invasion into the park and integrates with the reforestation area. To the south, it is proposed to have a perimeter platform and an access on the carrera 16, which guarantees the movement and accessibility to the park.
 

And as the main articulator of the Cerro Pan de Azúcar, the idea is to have a surrounding road between the equipment area of Sol de Oriente and El Ventiadero sector. Also, a pedestrian road is included, between Los Charcos de Castro, which in turn connects the neighborhoods Villa Liliam and Villa Turbay. All of these are part of a series of roads that end in the pools of the Santa Elena creek.
 

The scope of the project involves the whole road between Sol de Oriente and el Ventiadero, but focuses in 280 m for the area directly related to Campo Santo Park. From this point, it follows a pedestrian connection with the project of the Mirador at Alto de la Cruz in the Cerro Pan de Azúcar, and closes the circuit of mobility at Sol de Oriente.
 

Through material investments the aim is to generate different environments that characterize each of the activities to be undertaken and to highlight the importance of each space. Materials, such as synthetic stones, wood and items made with concrete, were chosen to keep a natural environment and to ensure its durability over time.
 

This project will be executed by the Ministry of Environment.

The General Manager of the EDU, Maria Eugenia Ramos Villa, welcomed the award and said it is an encouragement to Medellin Mayor’s Office, which in its Development Plan has worked on projects like this one, looking to bring high quality works at all corners of the city, where development with equity is unstoppable.