Parque do Barrocal

Barrocal Park is an 11 hectares site within the 40 hectares of the defined Barrocal area, in Castelo Branco, a city located in the interior of Portugal and a two-hour drive away from Lisbon. Its landscape character is determined by – and named after – the presence of huge granitic natural blocks with very particular shapes.  Its roughness allowed for the preservation of its natural character over time and it became a sanctuary for fauna and flora. In this context, the Municipality of Castelo Branco determined that the creation of a park would be essential for the preservation, study and promotion of the Barrocal. Its landscape and associated values, as well as its proximity to the city, represented an opportunity to provide outstanding spaces for Castelo Branco’s urban population, while creating a science, geological and archaeological interpretation site, a nature conservation site and a nature tourism destination.

Barrocal influenced Castelo Branco’s urban expansion and is strongly imprinted in the city’s identity, thus inspiring the park’s ecological design proposal. The minimalistic subtleness of the park’s layout holds a poetic aura which unfolds in every small detail, while the design interventions become a stage for people to contemplate and experience the landscape. The park’s masterplan was entirely designed on-site, reading and interpreting topography, geology and other landscape elements, as it became clear that it would be impossible to obtain a rigorous topographic survey given Barrocal’s particular landforms and its vegetation density. Essential infrastructures were designed, aiming at a minimum impact on the landscape. A network of wooden and metal suspended paths (carreiros) and viewpoints (mirantes) allow the public to access exceptional perspectives over a vast and varied landscape, while disciplining the flow of visitors, safeguarding natural sensitive areas with minimal costs of maintenance. The defined trails are punctuated by reference points, such as the domo circle bench (domo circle), a shaded tunnel (lagarto tunnel) or the cone shaped bird watching shelter (abelharucos birdwatching observatory). The park path’s system embraces the landscape in a usage intensity gradient transitioning from the urban setting of the R. Adelino Gomes towards the vastness of the Barrocal. Near the park’s main entrance, the shop and café are located, built in quartz-like shaped concrete modules reminding us of the granite prime material, repeated throughout in the park’s furniture. The nearby playground is embedded in the landscape, taking advantage of the granite blocks to support the slides, and of an old quarry that became the frame for a climbing net. These subtle and original design interventions aim at achieving a balance between recreation and nature conservation, confirming that it is possible to have an authentic natural park in an urban context.

The park’s design and construction was challenging and a dynamic process, while adapting layout and design solutions to the site’s specificities, as well as to legislation, function needs, budget and maintenance. Construction was organized in two phases: the recently built first phase is comprised of 11ha, that was formally inaugurated in May 2021. The second phase, comprised of 29ha, is still to be initiated. To intervene in 40 ha of such a peculiar landscape, an island of nature surrounded by urban areas, to which its inhabitants single and collective memories are so attached was, from the beginning, one of the greatest professional challenges of Topiaris as a design team. If, on the one hand, its vast area and its landscape features recall the natural parks sphere, on the other hand, its proximity to the city requires for the inclusion of urban recreational uses. The subtle use of design and materials, delicate and yet varied, are translated into constructed elements that sit in the park, alternating as objects that are both reference points, and fully embedded in the landscape, as if it they had always been a part of it. Strolling through the park is an ever-changing experience, between the expected and the unexpected, throughout seasons and hours of the day. All of this makes Barrocal Park an authentic nature museum: alive, dynamic, educational, interactive and playful, benefiting the city of Castelo Branco by providing a unique quality experience for its urban population, as well as enhancing the city’s potential as a nature tourism destination. Throughout the pandemic, Barrocal Park became a common destination for those who searched for close contact with nature, reinforcing the importance of this urban park in the face of the 21st century challenges: as a requirement for public health, for walks and for gatherings; as a biodiversity and heritage conservation refuge; and, as a unique place for disseminating Barrocal’s landscape natural systems, welcoming visitors with a minimum impact across its geological, archaeological, ecological and landscape resources, protecting them for future generations. The simple, yet innovative design interventions achieved a balance between recreation and nature conservation, proving that it is possible to have an authentic nature park within the city.