Almería is one of the driest regions in Europe. Nevertheless it still has very important wetlands relevant to migration of birds between Africa and Europe. They have been important resources for humans along the history, having an effect in the settlement of people on the coast. In those wetlands the practice of salt exploitation can be traced to the VI and V century b.C and its trade opened big exportation routes.
During the twentieth century the coast of Almería changed dramatically as an effect of tourism and agriculture. These changes produced the increasing of the occupation of the coastline and a decreasing of the wet surfaces, being the salt evaporation ponds the most damaged ones. The lack of protection of wetlands and the abandon of salt production have put them in risk of definitive destruction. For this reason, some of these salt pans have disappeared or are in poor condition.
Salt works are a rich industrial, landscape and ethnographic heritage, that where very important for the region from an economical point of view. We still ignore a lot about it though. That is why the purpose of my work is bringing into the open the interest of these old industries and their value for the future of Almería.
My project is located in Roquetas de Mar, a municipality that has one of the most densely occupied coast of Almería (11.100 km of urbanized coast, a 64,8% of its total). It is vital to stop this uncontrolled development and preserve coastal natural spaces from speculation. An example of survival among this pressure is “Los Bajos” wetland area. Near it, salt ponds of San Rafael have been almost destroyed and are catalogued as a developable land (residential use and hotels). My proposal consists of an integral plan for the whole area of “Los Bajos” for its enhancement.
In the salt ponds of San Rafael I propose a change in the urban general plan to consider this area as an undevelopable land for industrial activity. The activity I propose instead is the production of microalgae in open ponds to recover the identity of this old wet production area. This new productive proposal includes a series of buildings with the aim of researching and producing microalgae and the dissemination of the salt work heritage (using an interpretation center and workshops).
In the project they merge together architectural and territorial proposal, recovering the ancient salt ponds traces and setting the buildings over one of the old canals.
Landscape integration of the whole project is achieved by a game of heights and excavated architecture.