La Granja stairs

José Antonio Martínez Lapeña & Elías Torres Architects (2)
José Antonio Martínez Lapeña & Elías Torres Architects
Elías Torres Tur
José Antonio Martínez Lapeña

The historic centres of many cities, with their narrow streets and tightly knit fabrics, have in common the compatibility of vehicle and pedestrian traffic. In Toledo its centre was emptying out and the citizens were settling more comfortably in the plain outside the walls. In order to solve the accessibility problems in the centre of Toledo, two car parks have been built close to the city walls and with ski lifts for pedestrians.

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In the case of the descent to La Granja, escalators have been installed which start their route after crossing a short covered passage under the foundations of the medieval wall. This pass is a new gateway to the city as an alternative to the Arab ones of La Bisagra and El Cambrón. In order to minimise the environmental impact on the landscape on the north side of the city, the building housing the stairs has been embedded in the hillside. The six flights of stairs required to bridge the 40-metre difference in height form a zigzag pattern which, on the one hand, adapts to the topography and, on the other hand, avoids the sensation of vertigo that a user might feel when seeing all the stairs at once if they had been laid out in a continuous line.

Daniela Colafranceschi
Daniela Colafranceschi

The escalators are supported on a concrete foundation 30 metres deep and are accompanied on one side by an earth retaining wall, which in turn supports a 6-metre sloping cantilevered roof that protects them and provides continuity to the landscaped slope of the hillside. This roof does not exactly follow the natural slope of the land, but rises slightly to create a long, continuous opening that follows the course of the stairs, from which the valley of the Tagus and the new Toledo can be seen. (The concrete used to build the support structure for the stairs is the colour of Toledo brick and marzipan).

David Cardelús

General information

La Granja stairs

YEAR

2000

Status

Built

Option to visit

Free visit

Address

45003 Toledo - Toledo

Latitude: 39.861216462

Longitude: -4.028017497

Classification

Built area

501 - 5000 m²

Awards

VI BEAU

FAD 2001

ACUE 2001

III BIAU

Involved architects

Elías Torres Tur

José Antonio Martínez Lapeña

Collaborators

Juan Carlos Corona (Technical architect)

Aguilera Ingenieros (Installations)

STATIC - Gerardo Rodríguez (Structure)

Santiago Esteban Hernán (Technical architect)

Necso Entrecanales y Cubiertas (Construction Company)

Involved architectural firms

José Antonio Martínez Lapeña & Elías Torres Architects

Information provided by

José Antonio Martínez Lapeña & Elías Torres Architects

Website links

EUMies Award

José Antonio Martínez Lapeña & Elías Torres Architects

VI BEAU

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Location

39.861216462 -4.028017497 525ccc87-3f87-4c76-ba0b-ebafeed9f02a Built
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