The jury for the municipal call launched in May has now chosen the projects for the creation of ten accessible play areas to boost recreational opportunities for children with functional diversity. Barcelona’s 21 accessible play areas are set to number over 70 in 2024, meaning 90% of the city’s population will have one within 15 minutes from home.

With the competition now resolved, the selected projects will continue to be developed with special education centres and organisations working with children with functional diversity. The final projects will start being drafted so that the new play areas can be built early in 2024. The overall budget for the call, the drafting of projects and the execution of work is 4.38 million euros.

Winning projects

The five projects in the competition which were considered the most suitable for the specific conditions of each location are:

• Jardins de Màlaga (Sants-Montjuïc). Project selected: Els 3 bolets.
  The play area here will become the largest in the whole city and resemble a woods, with three wild mushrooms emerging. Each mushroom is conceived for a specific age group, offering various technical solutions for accessibility. The space will be complemented with a relaxed play area linked to experimentation with sand and other natural elements, plus a freshening up space in an area with stands and meeting areas.
• Jardins de Vil·la Amèlia and Jardins del Dr. Roig i Raventós (Sarrià-Sant Gervasi). Project selected: Cuc sensorial. A feature which folds up and changes shape, creating an accessible route within the park and as far as the play area, separating the different play spaces and guiding users within this area.
• Plaça d’Elisa Antonella(Gràcia) and Passeig Garcia Fària (Sant Martí). Project selected: Un munt de jocs. This will be a green perimeter with garden tubs to protect the area and offer shade during the summer months. The area will offer an inner route with different spaces and play elements on top of mounds.
• Interior d’Illa Cta. Antiga d’Horta (Eixample), Plaça de Ventura Gassol (Sarrià-Sant Gervasi) and Plaça Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (Sant Andreu). Project selected: P.L.A.Y. This project places a giant portico in the centre of the square, with play elements hanging from it so users can climb onto some swings. Play-friendly sections of rubber floor will also be added here.
•  Jardins de Celestina Vigneaux (SantsMontjuïc) and Plaça d’Emili Mira (Sarrià-Sant Gervasi). Project selected: Rock&Roll. This project separates the street from the play area with a green zone to create shade and transform the inner paths around the gardens to make them more accessible. The play area will feature an accessible zip slide and a pentagonal swing.

The projects chosen will be displayed at the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC) from 10 to 20 October.

More improvements to accessibility in children’s parks

The next few months will also see work get under way to improve and recondition various children’s play areas. In all, over 5,000 square metres of space will be upgraded over a period of twenty months. There are also plans to remodel a further thirty children’s play areas soon.

These are:

• Ciutat Vella: Parc de la Ciutadella and Pla de Palau.
• Eixample: Parc de Joan Miró.
• Sants-Montjuïc: El Polvorí, Av. Estadi-Parc de Montjuïc, Riera Blanca-Quetzal
  and Plaça del Mig de Can Clos.
• Sarrià-Sant Gervasi: Parc de l’Oreneta and Plaça de Martí Llaurador.
• Horta-Guinardó: Plaça de Bacardí, Plaça de Petrarca and Jardins de Rosa Luxemburg.
• Nou Barris: Ciutat de Mallorca, Parc Central de Nou Barris, Torrent Can Piquer-Piferrer and Passeig de Valldaura-Lorena.
•  Sant Martí: Jardins de Xavier Berenguer and Llull-Diagonal.