Today, 14th of May, 2021, the deputy mayor of Madrid, Begoña Villacís, together with the delegate of Urban Development, Mariano Fuentes, inaugurated a public exhibition of the projects of the international ideas contest of the Metropolitan Forest in Parque de El Retiro. West 8, together with Atalaya Territorio and Juan Jose Tur Mc Glone, were selected as second prize winners of the competition, with the entry “VUELVO AL SUR”.

Commissioned by the city of Madrid, the Metropolitan Forest competition involved strategic plans for the deployment of green infrastructure to the city. By planting native forest species on five key available municipal plots across Madrid, the radical transformation would to contribute to both an ecological restoration of degraded areas and enhancement of new urban developments across the city.

In addition to converting the area to become a ‘forest factory’ through the establishment of a forest- and soil- nursery to supply the entire Metropolitan Forest, the project, Vuelvo al sur (Return to the south), is guided by three principles: ‘Reconnecting the city and countryside’ through an accessible slow traffic lane for pedestrians and cyclists; ‘Social reconnection of the South Corona’, a permeable forest and new centre for the Los Barrios neighbourhood; and ‘From city sink to ecosystem repair’, creating a new green circular economy infrastructure.

A total of 33 entries were submitted to the international competition, for more information (in Spanish): Click here.