Balmori Associates Chosen for Bay of Pasaia Master Plan

New York-based landscape and urban design firm Balmori Associates, along with British S333 Architecture + Urbanism has been selected as finalist to develop proposals for a new master plan that will regenerate the area surrounding the Bay of Pasaia, in the Basque country of Spain. They will be competing against the four remaining finalists Zaha Hadid, West 8, KCAP and Ezquiaga.

The competition organizers announced the five teams that were chosen from the 47 teams that applied including MVRDV, BIG, Dominque Perrault, Oriol Bohigas, Richard Rogers, FOA, and Estudio Lamela. The five teams selected are rewarded a prize of 50,000 euros and are given four months to submit their proposals.

Balmori Associates international team also includes environmental consultants Battle McCarthy (London), and two local consultants: technical consultants Lantec (Bilbao) and socio-economic consultants IKEI Research (San Sebastian).

Balmori Associates’ other urban regeneration projects in Spain include Abandoibarra Master Plan, Bilbao (competition winner,1997), Plaza Euskadi, Bilbao (under construction), Campa de los Ingleses Park, Bilbao (competition winner, 2007.)

Background to Master Plan

The Port of Pasaia is planning to undertake work on an outer harbor for the bay in the period between 2011 - 2020. In spite of the physical limitations specific to the bay and the fact that it does not have a bulk liquid handling dock, current port activity moves an annual cargo of around 5 million tons, which contributes approximately 1.8% to the domestic product of Gipuzkoa and generates direct employment for more than 4,000 workers.

In this context of priority activity for the region, Gipuzkoa Aurrera, the institution formed for the development of strategic projects for the territory by the public and private bodies which are the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa, Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Gipuzkoa, Kutxa, Grupo Mondragón and Adegi, organized a competition to allow for reflection on a key area in the society and economy of Gipuzkoa.

The approximate surface area in the bay area is 68 Ha. The complexity of the area, its position on the sea front, the relationship with the existing urban centers which belong to four different municipalities and, above all, the opportunity for development in the center of the conurbation known as the Bayonne-San Sebastian Basque Eurocity, makes it necessary for there to be a master plan which contains guidelines common to the entire area surrounding the bay.