Chiva (ES)

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CHIVA (ES)

Scales L/S

Team representative Architect, landscape architect
Location Ravine of Chiva (Rambla del Poyo) in its course through Chiva
Population 16,285 inhabitants

Reflection site 37,6 ha - Project site 2,2 ha

Site proposed by General Directorate of Ecologic Innovation in Construction, Regional Government of Valencia
Actors involved Chica City Council + Watershed of the river Júcar Confederation
Owner(s) of the site Public

Commission after competition Drafting of the execution project, works management and health and safety coordination of the works.

More Information

Inhabited milieu's challenges

The ravine of Chiva is a watercourse known as the Rambla del Poyo, a 40 km route through the Region of Valencia, which flows into the Albufera of Valencia. As it passes through Chiva, it crosses the city centre, splitting in two the old quarter of Islamic origin located on the water's banks, an element that brings people together and gives a unique character to its environment. The buildings in the urban area of the ravine have their rear facades overhanging the ravine, creating an amalgam of disorderly but harmonious volumes.
Currently, the issues arising from industrial water pollution seem to have been resolved and the constant flow through the gully has allowed for a significant recovery of the fauna and flora. However, in a Mediterranean context such as this, water floods are a threat that must always be considered.
The potential of this blue but also green infrastructure lies in the landscape it generates and in the great environmental, agricultural and forestry value it confers on its surroundings, which it manages to bring into the centre of the municipality, imbricating a natural ecosystem in the built environment that is a symbol of Chiva.
However, the evocative nature of the place contrasts with the perception of neglect and the lack of opportunity to enjoy the magic of the place.

Questions to the competitors

The ravine of Chiva has historically been perceived as a natural wound that fractures the urban fabric. As a result of the vulnerability implied by the unpredictable course of its waters, the ravine has not been ac- corded its intrinsic environmental and landscape value as a corridor of biodiversity which, moreover, could have a positive impact on the dynamisation of the municipality.
The challenge is to enhance the value of the ravine as it passes through the city centre. This could be accomplished by means of an intervention and/or landscape management project that promotes the re-urbanisation of its immediate surroundings; it would cease to turn its back on it, adapting its course and connecting it with the town centre so that both function in synergy.
In this way, the ravine could be made accessible in its broadest sense, promoting its ecological and natural values and bringing it closer to the citizens, thus making it function as a truly structuring and identifying element of the municipality, to be enjoyed by the citizens.
The challenge is to promote the reformulation of the treatment of the bridges that cross it and that are designed exclusively for mobility. This work requires a larger scale observation, as it is a green and blue infrastructure that forms a natural corridor whose source is at an altitude of 800m and ends in the Albufera of Valencia. Likewise, it must contemplate and attend to the scenes close to the citizens, as the centre of Chiva is a space full of everyday life.
All in all, the aim is to regenerate an inhabited environment, with a high cultural value as it configures the layout of the traditional historic centre of Chiva and, at the same time, to reinterpret a natural element to increase its social recognition and its environmental value.

Questions on the site

Within the intervention area -yellow line-, to what extent is it possible to intervene? If there is a vacant house, is it possible to propose the use of this space, with the consequent architectural intervention that this use would entail?
Dentro del área de intervención -línea amarilla-, ¿hasta qué punto se puede intervenir? Si existe una vivienda en desuso, ¿se podría proponer la utilización de ese espacio, con la consiguiente intervención arquitectónica que este uso conllevaría

In answer to your question, yes, there is a 121 square metre vacant dwelling that could be used.
En contestación a su pregunta, si existe una vivienda de 121 metros cuadrados en desuso que podría ser utilizada.

-Can we get any 3D file, point cloud file or any cross section of the rift ? -Do you have any documentation or information about the development and the impact (positive or negative) of tourism in Chiva ?

We have no 3D file, nor PCD file, nor section of the rift.
The tourism impact in Chiva is mainly due to "El Torico" events, estimated by 7,5 milions of euros.

No tenemos archivo en 3D, ni tipo PCD, ni de sección del barranco. 
El impacto turistico en Chiva es principalmente derivado de la fiesta del Torico y se estiman en 7,5 millones de euros.

Would it be possible to have a cartography with information on the topography of the area (level curves and altimetric elevations)?

We do not have a topography of the project area. We do not have the appropriate tools to be able to carry it out.

No tenemos topografiada el área del proyecto. No disponemos de herramientas adecuadas para poder realizarla.

Will it be possible to have more site-pictures of: 1. The playground and sorroundings at the Cruz Piedra street ? 2. The end of Pedralba street ? 3. The bifurcation of Olivera road and its surrondings. ? Thanks

See  complete site folder/"New documents after launch"

Would it be possible to have any kind of information about: The urban water management (wastewater discharge, graywater system, collectors, rainwater system) and its relationship with the barranco. How the water supply system to the barranco works. Any kind of information available would be very appreciated: description, projects, plans etc.

Regarding the gray water collection system, there is a collector that partially affects the affected area, which is intended to carry out an intervention.
On the other hand, the water supply of the ravine is not a municipal competence. There is no more detailed description available, no projects, no plans.

Respecto al sistema de recogida de agua grises, se dispone de un colector que afecta parcialmente a la zona de afección, que se pretende llevar a cabo una intervención.
Por otra parte, el abastecimiento de agua del barranco, no es competencia municipal.No hay descripción más detallada disponible, ni proyectos, ni planes.

This site is connected to the following theme

LET THE BIRDS SING!
Reimagining public space as a biodiverse landscape

Imagine public space as a biodiverse landscape. Imagine public space as the touching ground, the proof that YES, WE CAN –through design– address challenges caused by the crisis due to climate change, in terms of social and environmental issues. Imagine public space as the agent for inclusion of difference both in terms of humans and non-humans, as a mediator between new interdependencies. Imagine soils, water bodies, shores and eco-corridors as the main actors to guide complex transformation processes. On the following sites, public space is seen as the area where the topic of Living Cities is performed.

Specific documents

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Questions on the site

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Fr. 2 June 2023
Deadline for submitting questions

Fr. 16 June 2023
Deadline for answers

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