The APB launches an ideas competition for the redevelopment of the Contramuelle-Mollet area at the Port of Palma
01/06/2018
The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) approved yesterday the launch of an ideas competition for the redevelopment of the Contramuelle-Mollet area at the Port of Palma. The aim of this competition is to select preliminary draft proposal for the redesign of the port area, following the dynamic initiative already underway by the APB to integrate the port into the city for the benefit of users, locals and tourists.
The proposals are to focus on the Contramuelle-Mollet zone, particularly on the areas of Astilleros de Mallorca, the fishermen's wharfs, the fish market and the San Telmo gardens. The public areas occupied by the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) and the San Telmo Oratory will be outside the scope of action. The projects must redesign and establish the spaces, infrastructure and superstructures of the port area.
The ultimate aim of the competition is to provide the foundations for reviewing the Use Plan (PUEP) and the Special Plan, transforming some zones into open spaces to achieve the sought-after increased connection to the sea and to establish places where required infrastructure could be located, such as the fish market and fishing services, among others.
The proposals, which must be anonymous, are to be chosen through a panel of judges in a single non-binding phase. The authors will retain the intellectual property rights. However, the APB may use any of the ideas submitted in the undertaking of future actions relating to the competition without any obligation to form a contractual relationship with the contestants.
The APB may favour the drawing up of a specific project in order to incorporate the ideas obtained in this competition into a call for tenders comprising one or several restricted processes in which the teams awarded in the competition will be invited to participate.
Up for grabs in the competition is a first prize of €20,000, two second prizes of €10,000 and three third prizes of €5,000.
Multidisciplinary competition
The competition is open to all professional teams that include at least one architect and a civil engineer, who must be members of the corresponding associations and legally competent to draw up projects. Only one proposal may be submitted per team and individuals can only participate in one team.
The proposals will be identified by means of a byword to ensure the anonymity of the contestants and a sealed opaque envelope will be used, on which the byword will be written and in which the identity of the authors with the corresponding signature will be found. The candidates will have two months to submit their work as from the closing of the registration period.
The panel will be chaired by the President of the APB and the vice-president will be the mayor of the Palma City Council. Other members will include the director of the APB, the president of the Civil Engineering Association of the Balearic Islands (CICCP), the president of the Architects Association of the Balearic Islands (COAIB), an architect or engineer from the Mallorca Council, an architect or engineer from the Palma City Council, the head of the Planning and Sustainability Department of the APB, a representative of the Maritime Museum chosen by the Mallorca Council, a renowned architect chosen by the COAIB and a renowned civil engineer chosen by the CICCP.
The judging panel will take into consideration the port-city integration of the area, the appropriateness of buildings, the urban and architectural suitability, environmental sustainability and innovation, and other factors.
Port-city integration
Among the main criteria that the panel will assess includes the location of the future Maritime Museum of Mallorca in the plot currently occupied by Astilleros de Mallorca, whose activity is expected to be moved elsewhere in the port, and the continuance of the current edge alignment of the docks, although some modifications may take place if duly justified.
Furthermore, the fishing industry must continue in the same area of activity. As such, the market location, the fishermen's association, its offices and warehouses, and the drying lines, etc., will be maintained. The current arches on the facade of the building on the Fishermen's Wharf will also be preserved due to its emblematic image at the Port of Palma.
Another requisite is that the proposals must work well with the Palma City Council's refurbishment project on the Seafront promenade and the RCNP's redevelopment project. Furthermore, the water surface area remaining from the activity schedule of the fishing fleet and that provided by the Maritime Museum will be earmarked for sailing and leisure. Additionally, redesigning the San Telmo gardens may also be considered.
The rules and documentation related to the competition, as well as the registration dates, will be made public in the next few days through their publication in the Official State Gazette.
