Kimberley Mannion
AFTER a month that saw Spain in the grip of the earliest heatwave in more than four decades, Madrid city authorities have unveiled plans for a ‘wind garden’ capable of lowering temperatures.
The 14.5 hectare park is part of redesign for the Chamartin station area in the north of the city, with a wind garden that captures the breeze and recycles, dramatically reducing the air temperature by up to 4C.
The idea is inspired by air cooling methods popular in parks across the Middle East.
Wildlife in the garden will include fern and moss rising above the treetops to capture air from above and disperse it below.
It will also have the knock on effect of helping to cool down temperatures in surrounding streets.
Dutch architecture studio West 8 will be constructing the project, the same company which redesigned London’s Jubilee Gardens in 2012.
Coordinator of the project, Juan Tur, told British newspaper The Times: “Nowadays you can’t propose a public space without taking into account the climatic conditions and proposing innovative solutions to solve ecological problems”.
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