Águas Claras Linear Park
The Mina de Águas Claras Linear Park is an unique opportunity with potential to create a new vision of public open space through the rehabilitation of a mining area in the process of closing, leaving a positive legacy in environmental and urban terms for the present and future generations.
The area under study is literally located within the city´s postcard, hidden behind the profile of Serra do Curral encompassed by the environmental protection areas of Parque das Mangabeiras and Parque da Serra do Curral. One of the most impressive factors about the park area is its scale. Belo Horizonte lacks public recreational and entertainment spaces, with the existing ones being precarious and insufficient to meet the growing demand of the population in the RMBH (Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte). The proportion and location of the area has the potential to house one of the most imposing parks in Brazil.
The excavation pit is the site´s great asset, opening up a huge and clean-water lake to the city, which is non- existing in Belo Horizonte. Therefore, the excavation pit has the potential to become one of the main tourist attractions in the capital due to its exclusive character, surrounded by exuberant vegetation a few kilometers from the city center.
The park has been divided into 3 main parts: Transgrotonic, Esplanade and Ramifications
Transgrotonic: The main access axis to the park, intended for walking, jogging and cycling, with strategically placed support facilities (fitness, rest and leisure) along the route, including secondary paths and belvederes on the surface of the slope to the North. View points, contemplation spaces/ decks, educational spaces (greenhouses, nurseries), sculptures and interactive artworks are some of the possible uses of the park. Along this path, typical Cerrado Biome species will be introduced, in order to configure a kind of Rupestrian Botanical Garden, including transplanted species for the restoration of degraded areas; A flowing sheet of water (only 1 cm deep) will run through the park´s main points, allowing for entertainment and contemplation, as well as moderating climatic factor.
Ramifications: Alternative paths, with the character of exploring the best views of the landscape and the experience of direct contact with nature, branching out from both Transgrotonic and Esplanade, towards Mata do Jambreiro and the Excavation pit/ Serra do Curral, respectively.
Esplanade: The Esplanade is the heart of the Park, where all the paths will converge, and where all users will eventually be drawn to. It concentrates the majority of the support program and has the potential to accommodate a multitude of permanent or temporary uses. The “Water Plaza” will have several fountains for users to interact with the “clear waters” of the Excavation Pit, being the apex of the use of this structuring element of the park.
On another level of the Esplanade, a “Grove” with fruit trees and a “Great Lawn” the size of an official soccer field are proposed, providing a completely flexible space open to various types of uses: picnic, leisure, sports, dog walking, cycling, bird watching, fitness activities, various temporary events: fairs, concerts, outdoor cinema, festivals, theater plays, etc). Contemplation platforms and decks that branch out from the Esplanade are also present around the excavation pit , providing a contemplative and peaceful space.
The conceptual and quantitative solutions proposed here for the park, a private facility open to the public, reflect what we consider the most appropriate use of the area taking into account the various physical, natural, legal, financial, urban, landscape, environmental and cultural constraints.
