{"id":29142,"date":"2026-09-27T20:07:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T02:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.landuum.com\/interventions\/childrens-city-park\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T20:07:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T02:07:37","slug":"childrens-city-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.landuum.com\/en\/interventions\/childrens-city-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s City Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUNAR arquitectos transforms a former military site into the <\/span>Children\u2019s City Park<\/b>, a 14,000 m\u00b2 public space in M\u00e9rida, Spain, where vegetation, accessibility, and identity shape a new landscape for play, walking, and gathering.<\/span><\/p>\n

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For decades, the former Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s military barracks occupied a strategic position within M\u00e9rida\u2019s urban fabric, next to La Rambla park. Following the relocation of military operations to the B\u00f3toa base in Badajoz, the compound \u2014enclosed by high walls and watchtowers\u2014 became a large void within the consolidated city. Over time, part of the site was occupied by the Open museum of M\u00e9rida and a visitor parking area, while nearly 15,000 m\u00b2 remained without a defined use.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Situaci\u00f3n del parque en M\u00e9rida\/ Park location in M\u00e9rida
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Nicol\u00e1s Yazigi<\/p><\/div>\n

Upon this waiting ground, the opportunity arises to create a new public space for children. The project begins through a participatory process with the city\u2019s children, incorporating play, exploration, and diversity as design criteria. The intervention transforms a historically closed and exclusionary enclave into an open civic landscape, connected to La Rambla and capable of integrating into M\u00e9rida\u2019s everyday network of routes and public spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

The intervention transforms a historically closed and exclusionary enclave into an open civic landscape capable of integrating into M\u00e9rida\u2019s everyday network of routes and public spaces.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Plano general de accesibilidad universal\/ General plan of universal accessibility
Ilustraci\u00f3n\/ Illustration: DUNAR arquitectos<\/p><\/div>\n

Universal accessibility constitutes the generative principle. It is not conceived as a specific route or as a complementary solution, but rather as a condition that organizes the entire park. This decision is particularly relevant given the existing nearby change in elevation, of approximately five meters, between the extremes of the site. Rather than organizing the space through stepped platforms and added ramps, a continuous topography is designed, shaped by organic pathways with slopes of less than 4%. The paths absorb the difference in elevation, distribute flows, and construct a shared experience for all people, without segregated routes.<\/span><\/p>\n

This accessible network configures a sequence of \u201cplay islands\u201d and articulates the different thematic areas: children\u2019s play, water play, sports, traditional games, parkour, and an archaeological reserve incorporating remains of the Roman urban fabric of Augusta Emerita. Each area retains its own identity while participating in a spatial continuity in which playing, walking, resting, and meeting take place within the same landscape. The sinuous geometry avoids rigid zoning and generates transitions, crossings, and gathering points that encourage collective use and foster coexistence among people of different ages and abilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Reserva arqueol\u00f3gica dentro del parque\/ Archaeological reserve within the park
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Nicol\u00e1s Yazigi<\/p><\/div>\n

Materiality reinforces this unitary reading. Pavements and play surfaces make it possible to recognize the different uses without resorting to barriers, while the furniture and play elements are integrated into the topography and the main pathways. Vegetation accompanies the routes, provides shade to areas for staying, and contributes to moderating the climatic harshness of the Extremaduran summer. In this way, ground, planting, equipment, and relief cease to function as independent layers and form a continuous support for activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Parkour integrado en paisaje l\u00fadico\/ Parkour integrated into the playful landscape
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Nicol\u00e1s Yazigi<\/p><\/div>\n

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Pumptrack integrado en la topograf\u00eda\/ Pumptrack integrated into the topography
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Nicol\u00e1s Yazigi<\/p><\/div>\n

Water introduces a climatic and sensory dimension that is particularly relevant. Its play area extends the use of the park during the warmer months and makes environmental comfort part of the play experience. Through a recirculation system, water simultaneously serves as a play resource and a cooling element, avoiding continuous consumption and reinforcing the seasonal character of the landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Juegos de agua y refresco\/ Water play and cooling areas
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Nicol\u00e1s Yazigi<\/p><\/div>\n

Beyond its scale, the relevance of Children\u2019s City Park lies in its capacity to invert the meaning of the place: from an inaccessible military compound to an open public space; from an urban void to an active landscape; from a sum of facilities to a shared civic structure. Accessibility, play, climate, and memory are integrated into a park where walking, playing, and gathering become part of the same urban experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Paisaje, recorridos y espacios compartidos\/ Landscape, pathways, and shared spaces
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Nicol\u00e1s Yazigi<\/p><\/div>\n

Abstract of the Studio:<\/b><\/p>\n

DUNAR architects \/ Fco. Javier Robustillo Yag\u00fce + Carlos A. Robustillo Yag\u00fce<\/span><\/p>\n

Studio founded in M\u00e9rida, Spain, in 2006, dedicated to architecture, urban planning, and landscape through a precise and sensitive practice that transforms matter and context into shared spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DUNAR arquitectos transforms a former military site into the Children\u2019s City Park, a 14,000 m\u00b2 public space in M\u00e9rida, Spain, where vegetation, accessibility, and identity shape a new landscape for play, walking, and gathering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":29133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interventions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t