New roots: Europe’s largest cactus garden springs from an industrial wasteland
Cacti and other genres of xerophyte plants need very little water and can adapt to extremely harsh environments. What more appropriate place to celebrate this fact than on a once-industrial wasteland on the outskirts of Madrid?
Situated on a plot adjacent to the thundering AI Highway, Desert City is the largest cactus garden in Europe and has an aim to educate the public at large on the ecological and aesthetic benefits of xerophyte plant life. It’s an idea from Mercedes Garcia, an agronomist who firmly believes that low-maintenance, low-water gardens are the way of the future: a philosophy she has named ‘zerolandscaping’.
Over 16,000 sq m of wasteland was claimed to create Desert City, a third of which is occupied by an enclosure designed by the Madrid-based Jacobo García-Germán architecture studio. Along with guided tours, research and breeding of cacti, Desert City offers a retail space, workshops, event facilities and even a restaurant.
These facilities are enclosed in García-Germán’s building, a landmark-proportioned horizontal structure with a greenhouse at its centre where visitors can peruse a large selection of plants displayed in peaceful symmetry. The architect describes the project as a mammoth oasis – one part open to the sky (the garden) and the other part enclosed in his structure.
García-Germán chose materials and scale that responded to the building’s close proximity to the highway and the constant presence of speeding traffic, which is seen through green-tinted photovoltaic windows that surround the structure. The central greenhouse is protected by a lightweight roof made cables laid to the principles of transegrity and reinforced with a ‘cushion’ of ETFE, which regulates temperature. Surrounding the greenhouse are lookout points, bridges, walkways, terraces and other devices that work together providing cross ventilation, thermal protection and shade; all features of the project’s strict environmental criteria.
The plot was originally a dumping ground for waste created by the construction of the highway. The project, García-Germán says, ‘has been regenerative by returning the land, at least in part, to nature, and creating a new landscape that is paradoxically natural and artificial, exotic and regressive’.
These facilities are enclosed in García-Germán’s building, a landmark-proportioned horizontal structure with a greenhouse at its centre where visitors can peruse a large selection of plants displayed in peaceful symmetry. The architect describes the project as a mammoth oasis – one part open to the sky (the garden) and the other part enclosed in his structure.
García-Germán chose materials and scale that responded to the building’s close proximity to the highway and the constant presence of speeding traffic, which is seen through green-tinted photovoltaic windows that surround the structure. The central greenhouse is protected by a lightweight roof made cables laid to the principles of transegrity and reinforced with a ‘cushion’ of ETFE, which regulates temperature. Surrounding the greenhouse are lookout points, bridges, walkways, terraces and other devices that work together providing cross ventilation, thermal protection and shade; all features of the project’s strict environmental criteria.
The plot was originally a dumping ground for waste created by the construction of the highway. The project, García-Germán says, ‘has been regenerative by returning the land, at least in part, to nature, and creating a new landscape that is paradoxically natural and artificial, exotic and regressive’.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Desert City website and the García-Germán Arquitectos website
ADDRESS
Autovia A1 – KM 25
28708 San Sebastián de los Reyes
Madrid
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Pininfarina Battista Reversario is a new one-off electric hypercar
The all-electric Pininfarina Battista Reversario is joining its aesthetic inverse in an ultra-select car collector’s garage. We take a look at a car built to a very precise order
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Fernando Jorge’s fluid diamond earrings show his curve appeal
Discover Brazilian jewellery designer Fernando Jorge's snake-like silhouettes and graphic shapes
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Abreham Brioschi debuts Ethiopia-inspired rugs for Nodus
Abreham Brioschi teams up with luxury rug experts Nodus to translate visions from his heritage into a tactile reality
By Ifeoluwa Adedeji Published
-
MOCA is a self-sufficient mobile home offering freedom to work (and roam)
MOCA (Mobile Catalyst) is a sustainable mobile home designed by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, and taking remote working to a new level
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Architectural gardens around the world to soothe the soul
From small domestic gardens, to nature reserves, urban interventions and local parks, here are some of the finest green projects that place nature at their heart
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Low-energy house in Catalonia minimises its footprint to make the most of its site
Alventosa Morell Arquitectes’ low-energy house in Catalonia nestles into the landscape
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Hortensia Herrero Art Centre puts Valencia on the contemporary art map
Hortensia Herrero Art Centre launches in Valencia, offering a home for contemporary art to sit side by side with archaeological treasures
By Blaire Dessent Published
-
Collective, Hong Kong and Spain: Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2023
With bases in Hong Kong and Spain, Collective joins the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Nicolás y Nicolás, Spain and Ecuador: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023
With offices in Spain and Ecuador, Nicolás y Nicolás is part of the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This light-filled Spanish house is defined by openness and geometry
A Spanish house by Arquitecturia Camps Felip is designed around its courtyards and its six volumes’ bold geometry
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Spain’s Casa Primitiva is ruled by simplicity
The pared-back Casa Primitiva by Hanghar fits in perfectly in its semi-rural Spanish context
By TF Chan Published