The Mysterious Story of the Garden that Makes Water | Cómo crear historias

Designed by Cómo crear historias, Known as “El Coso”, the place was a great void at the back of the old part Cehegín (Murcia, Spain). After a big snow storm in the 1950s, many of the houses of this neighborhood collapsed or were damaged, leaving that big, sloped empty space. Besides this, the old part of Cehegín seemed to lack inhabitable gardens. The city needs to breathe through them.

photography by © David Frutos

We collect the rainwater and the wastewater from the sewing network in the high part of the site. The water goes along a pond network with riparian plants with the purpose of producing clean water. The result is used to irrigate the rest of the plants in the garden.
We located the “desire paths”, made by the footsteps of the neighbors, the ones who tried to walk through to the other side. By tracing the paths based on those tracks on the ground, the streets on the borders were connected by using comfortable slopes, making the paths accessible for all the neighbors. Green color floods the hard floors and tints the facades of the adjacent buildings.

photography by © David Frutos

The contractor and the municipal officials were able to contract local workers for developing many of the tasks. Even several of them were former inhabitants of the dwellings that collapsed in that neighborhood.
We hid a building in a pocket of the walking path. The building gives its roof to the park’s paths network and hosts a business incubator. This way, the park will be able to produce new jobs and recycled water, two important and scarce resources, given the current situation of the town and the Region.

photography by © David Frutos

Project Info:
Architects: Cómo crear historias
Location: Calle Coso, 30430 Cehegín, Murcia, Spain
Area: 4436.0 m2
Project Year: 2015
Photographs: David Frutos
Manufacturers: Alijarafe Medio Ambiente, Juan Carlos Ruiz González, Hernandez Meroño, Prefabricados Hijos de Gines Celdran, Hormigones Pateta, La Casa del Metal Soc. Coop., Cimentatec, Ruberoid, Climatización Ventilación E Ingeniería, Ragima C.B., Tomás San Nicolás López, Alfonso Jiménez Rodríguez, Estructuras Cehegín, Grupo Begamar Plastic, Sesisa, Industrias Técnicas El Coso, Miguel A. Paco Cánovas, LAMP, Pavimentos Antonio Gómez, Pinturas y Lacados Rumo + 9
Project Name: The Mysterious Story of the Garden that Makes Water