A park, a riverside promenade and a hotel among the facilities planned in the masterplan for Seville’s Port District
A park, a riverside promenade and a hotel are among the distinctive facilities that the future Port Urban District (Distrito Urbano Portuario) of Seville will house. So sets out the masterplan drawn up by the EDDEA team, which covers the layout, land uses, building and planning of this new 57-hectare neighbourhood of the Andalusian capital, conceived to bring the port into the city.
Rafael Carmona, president of the Port Authority of Seville (APS), presented the initiative, which could get under way in 2024. It will unfold along the linear stretch running from the Puente de las Delicias to the Puente del Centenario, which will broadly be home to a hotel, a university, cultural and sports spaces, green areas and housing.
The project proposes transforming 40 hectares of riverbank next to Avenida de Las Razas into a port-urban district with 308,219 square metres of built space for new economic activities and a further 184,782 square metres of open space and green areas. It also proposes the planning of 17 hectares on the eastern side of Avenida de Las Razas for residential and commercial use.
The technical office, formed by EDDEA and the real estate consultancy CBRE, proposes that more than half of the port area will become open space, structured by a large park running alongside an Avenida del Guadalhorce that will be remodelled for the purpose over the Port’s former railway line. A so-called ‘green bridge’ will also be built to connect the Parque del Guadaíra with the new district.
Tablada quay will combine its main port use as a cruise berth with a riverside promenade, known as ‘el Cantil’, which will preserve the port identity of the area. Running alongside it will be the ‘galería de los Tinglados’, a covered route that will let pedestrians cross the area in the shade cast by the existing warehouses.
At the northern end, beside the Puente de las Delicias, the gateway to the quay will be ‘la Bocana’, where people will be able to look out over the water from the ‘muelle de Honor’. To the south, beside the Puente del Centenario, the new space will open up the ‘Muelle de Heliópolis’ to bring the nearest neighbourhoods – Heliópolis and Bermejales – closer to the water. In the residential area, the document plans the ‘plaza de la Exposición’ as the point of entry from Reina Mercedes into the Port Urban District.
New cruise terminal
As for facilities, port uses will continue in the new ‘Cruise Terminal’. It will be the main focus of port activity in the area and will stand in the third shed, next to the ‘cantil’. The modern building will also house the ‘Port Center’, a new venue acting as a recreational interface between citizens, the port and Seville, designed to bring port, logistics and industrial activity closer to the public and to host visits, exhibitions and more.
The cultural facilities will be the ‘Teatro del Puente’ and the ‘Casa Azul’. The first, set in the Port park, showcases the Puente de Alfonso XIII as the centrepiece of the dock’s amphitheatre, where contact with the water takes centre stage. The second will be an emblematic space conceived as a new cultural and landscape landmark for Seville.
The masterplan also places the ‘Nave Encendida’ at the northern end of the site. This will be another point of entry to the port area, reinforcing access from la Bocana. What makes it distinctive is that it will retain the architectural character of the shed it occupies while opening it up all the way to the quay.
Sport and economic activities
The district will devote one quay to sports activities in the area of the fifth shed, and will have a parking hub with capacity for 1,400 spaces. The building is designed as a multi-storey structure so that it can take on other uses should car use decline.
Economic activities will be concentrated in the port’s warehouses and sheds. These buildings will retain their port character and will be able to host activities linked to retail, light industry (makers) and workspaces (working places and coworking).
At the southern end of the district, beside the Muelle de Heliópolis, an area will be reserved for a business zone with buildings of varying heights in harmony with their surroundings. Space will also be set aside near the Puente del Centenario, beneath the structure, which could be used for a dry marina or other uses that do not require building.
New hotel
Finally, in the ARI-DBP-08 area, a hotel of up to 10 storeys is proposed next to the Plaza de la Exposición, marking the entrance to the port area via calle Páez de Rivera.
The Port Urban District occupies a strategic position in the south of the city, close to the main transport networks. To make it accessible, the mobility strategy promotes an open, connected district where pedestrians come first, with walking and cycling circuits and links to the green ring and public transport. The internal transport networks are also designed so that any point can be reached from any other in a short time (a 5-minute district).
To launch the project, the APS plans to start the first phase from 2024 under an administrative concession regime involving private investment to develop the area, once the planning approval process has advanced. This first phase covers more than 100,265 square metres of open space and green areas and 117,904 square metres of floor space for activities.
