“I like the versatility of stone and its potential capacity for experimentation”

How has stone been used in Madrid’s New Pradolongo Park Project?

Stone has been used in gabions, which are double strength, galvanized iron mesh, cage-like structures which make for highly flexible walls. This means that they can be built on land with varying structural conditions and insufficient resistance. The walls are of various sizes, some of them reaching around seven and eight meters in height. Stone gabion walls act as a filter, efficiently expelling water. This is fundamental when designing for a public space. This is achieved due to the stones which are separated and held together by friction.

What kind of stone was used in the project and why?

Crushed limestone from La Rioja was used because we wanted to experiment with a warm color which, on the one hand, contrasts with the vegetation and, on the other hand, works with the flow of the project: an overlap of conceptual and constructed (in the Deleuze sense of the word) platforms, separated by stone gabion walls. In the same way, the crushed aggregate reveals angles that serve as a contrast to the flowing, curved geometry of the project. However, the stone also softens the, almost violent, movement of this former wasteland where meters of rubbish had to be excavated in order to avoid problems in the future.

Which do you believe to be the greatest benefits of working with stone?
I would say its versatility and the potential to experiment with stone. It can be used to make both convex and concave forms, as well as curved forms, slopes and arches. It is almost as if we were talking about a mechanized way of spitting out stone. On the other hand, stone can be used for projects that must be finished quickly. In this project, for example, we were able to construct various kilometers of stone gabion walls in just one and a half months. In general, using stone for construction is a systemized and normalized process which makes for an easy construction process. Even so, we are far more interested in stone because of the fact that we are able to give each piece a different geometry or achieve continuity using an accumulation of stone layers.

Did any difficulties arise during the implementation of this project?
We had almost no difficulties whatsoever. The process went smoothly and efficiently. We had slight difficulties achieving the acute angels of the gabions because we were using a new system for the first time involving triangular pieces.

How does the stone material relate to and harmonize with the rest of the materials used in the park?
Rather than harmony, we looked to achieve a contrasting dialogue between the fractured geometry of the crushed stone and the curves of the park. We were particularly interested in broken stone, randomly placed within the gabion cages without any particular order or logic. Chance is a fundamental part of our planning and construction projects. Rather, we are fascinated by the geometry and mathematics of chance. As a result, we constantly look to use broken stone. Every wall in the park is, in itself, a haphazard sculptural fragment. We reinforce our planning and construction processes with the accumulation of layers, processes, memories, etc. One might say that more is more.

What is the significance of stone in architecture as a whole?
Stone is historically significant for being a noble, excellent material but it must now evolve and be adapted to contemporary construction methods. It continues to be immensely traditional in the way it is used. These processes have already been developed significantly in other countries such as Japan and Germany. The significance of stone in architecture as a whole is that it has been vital throughout architectural history, including modern architectural movements. Today, however, it is slowly loosing its popularity and being rejected in favor of fancy new materials, such as the new translucent materials.