Adaptive Urbanism: Reconfigurable And Sustainable Urban Spaces For A City In Transformation | Architecture Thesis On Urban Regeneration

Site Context

The project is located in the Naranjal neighborhood, in the center of Medellín, Colombia. Despite its strategic importance, this area has long been overlooked in urban planning, leading to its disconnection from major metropolitan hubs. In this context, the proposal involves the design of a corridor along Carrera 65 that connects the city’s landmark hills, El Volador and Nutibara, while integrating major urban sites such as Parques del Río, La Alpujarra, and La Macarena. 

The intervention proposes the partial burial of road sections and the consolidation of an adaptive public space system composed of linear parks, bike paths, rain gardens, and modular urban furniture. This approach seeks to reestablish Naranjal’s connectivity with the broader city, reduce climate change impacts, and transform the area into a green, efficient, and resilient urban node. The overarching goal is to improve quality of life through a flexible, sustainable, and human-centered approach to urban development.

Design Process

This project is based on a multiscalar and multidimensional analysis of Medellín, focusing on the Naranjal sector as a strategic site for urban renewal. 

At the macro scale, the study examines the city’s ecological and mobility structures—such as the Medellín River, green corridors, and risk zones—highlighting the urgent need for climate adaptation. At this level, issues such as the disconnection of natural structuring elements (hills and streams), the loss of ecological value in La Hueso stream, and weak stormwater management leading to flood risks are identified.

The heavy vehicular traffic on key avenues targeted for intervention, ornamental landscaping lacking an ecological approach, and fragmentation of the urban fabric all exacerbate the disconnection between cultural, social, and natural nodes. Additionally, there is an unplanned mix of residential, industrial, commercial, and logistical uses, along with a lack of functional parks or well-equipped gathering spaces. Naranjal, with its limited integration into current strategic plans such as the Río Centro project, embodies these tensions in a distinct way.

Finally, at the micro scale, Naranjal emerges as a dynamic yet deeply fragmented district, with physical barriers created by major roads, high ecological vulnerability, and significant potential for sustainable densification, urban restructuring, and comprehensive public space recovery. Several intervention and articulation zones were proposed within the same sector, addressing a variety of spaces and needs through diverse types of public space. These include strategies such as the revitalization and adaptation of existing spaces, the creation of an elevated park over roadways, the transformation of road infrastructure for urban use, the introduction of mid-block parks, and the implementation of underground roads to free up urban public space.

These proposals reflect a comprehensive vision for environmental recovery and urban enhancement, integrating the interventions with the existing urban fabric while fostering new dynamics of use, mobility, and civic interaction.

Final Outcome

The Articulated Corridor 65 is a proposal aimed at transforming Carrera 65, between El Volador and Nutibara hills, into a green urban corridor integrated with major roads and the La Hueso and La Iguana creeks. The project envisions an adaptive public space system featuring active sidewalks, bike lanes, native tree planting, rain gardens, and both linear and elevated parks.

In the Naranjal sector, the proposal seeks to establish an urban, environmental, and social node through the partial burial of Carrera 65 and the creation of a large urban park. This intervention is connected to La Macarena, Parques del Río, and La Alpujarra, promoting sustainable mobility, ecological restoration, and citizen integration.

The proposal includes key components such as rain gardens, water buffering areas, green corridors, permeable surfaces, solar trees, solar lighting, water-collecting pergolas, and modular furniture. It also incorporates major strategies like the use of solar energy as a renewable source, a passive rainwater collection and management system, low-impact construction materials, and the integration of micro-ecosystems composed of native vegetation and wildlife.

Together, these strategies not only address environmental issues, mobility challenges, and urban fragmentation, but also open opportunities to build a more resilient, participatory, and ecologically regenerated city.

Conclusion: Ultimately, the project reimagines Carrera 65 as a green, connected corridor that restores ecology, enhances mobility, and strengthens community life—positioning Medellín as a more resilient and inclusive city.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]