One of the greatest surprises I have ever experienced when taking a trip was to visit Madrid Río project, in 2012. The fantastic linear park along Manzanares river had just been opened and I hadn´t read much about it or even seen its images by then. Many people didn´t even acknowledge its existence, since the city has developed away from it, very differently from Paris or London, for example.
 
The urban transformation process, which occurred between 2004 and 2011, started with drawing up the plans for the tunnel which would bury the motorway M-30, constructed in the 1970s. In 2005, the city commissioned urban studies for integrating the new road project with the city and launched an international design competition, whose winners were the architecture offices Burgos & Garrido, Porras la Casta, Rubio & Álvares Sala and West-8. The works for the tunnel started in 2007 and the ones for the park in 2008.   

Almost 1.3 sq. m of surface, from which 68 K sq. m are dedicated to facilities for direct public use, such as sports, public services, recreation, accessibility, sustainability, urban furniture and public lighting. All perfectly executed.

The architects responsible for the design Francisco Burgos and Ginés Garrido, on the left and right corners of the picture, respectively, José María de Lapuerta, Maria Teresa Diniz, Marina Escribano and Marion Katscher.

Toledo Bridge: there are 33 bridges along Madrid Río and 5 of them are historical ones which have been renovated. 

The playgrounds don´t use standard equipment but they are rather specifically designed to integrate with the landscape architecture of the park. They are amazing and sometimes it is difficult to find good angles to take pictures which will be fair to them. This is my favorite one, with slides opened and in tubes that cross the artificial hill. There are bicycle stands along each facility, so that you can cycle to them. 

The 'Skeleton' playground has spider webs made of rope hanging from the wooden structures. The granite bench has sections which support your back and others where you can choose which way to face. Note that the sitting height varies so as to better adjust to children from different ages. 

A series of elements creates the playground along the linear park, using wood as its main material. 

Aren´t these pigs the cutest? Now imagine you have been living right next to this hostile motorway and all of a sudden you can watch kids playing from your window and enjoy this wonderful park next to your home? I would say they deserve it all, having suffered for decades with the externalities of the M-30. 

But having fun isn´t restricted to the playground areas – there are opportunities all over the place. The shadow from the bridge creates the perfect environment for reading and resting in the stroller or for a surprising swing. Check out the granite bench in the background again with the wooden backrest. 

Roller-skating classes for children? One can find it all at Madrid Río.

How about when the creek doesn't have a constant water flow or too little water running on the surface of its valley? In Madrid Río, this is how landscape architecture solved the reconstruction of Huerta de la Partida, a dry brook.

Detail showing how the stones are placed on the ground. 

The urban furniture surprises for the use of noble, resistant material – such as wood, granite and steel – used in an original fashion, completely integrated with the urban design. This wooden bench with backrest snakes along one of the generous paths of the park. 

The Arganzuela Monumental Bridge is the only one which hasn´t been designed by the commissioned architecture offices which won the competition. It has been designed by the French architect Dominique Perrault, as a split bridge that meets in the middle. A little too "monumental" for my taste and not quite sustainable if one considers how much material has been used and the structural solution implemented to avoid pillars. The bridge is used by non-motorized mobility: pedestrians and cyclists. 

This simple bridge disguised as path goes over a brook. 

The water flow is artificially controlled, as water needs to be added to the amount running in the river to regularize it. The city still faces problems with water pollution but that doesn´t spoil but at all the visit to the park, a must-do when in Madrid.