Integrating the containment of rainwater with the naturalistic enhancement of places and the possibility of using them for recreational, educational and leisure scopes. The Water Park, a new format consisting of green infrastructure created by BrianzAcque in the name of innovation and sustainability, was established from a mix of these needs.
The initiative was presented to the media on Thursday 11 February 2021 in the presence of the main players of this major multifunctional project. The first two projects are co-financed by the Lombardy Region. These are real public "gardens" resulting from the redevelopment of marginal urban areas that not only solve the problems of flooding and overflowing when it rains, but also provide spaces for the community to meet and socialise.
Visually, the basic structure of the Water Park, with the blue gold landscape as its leitmotif, consists of an infiltration basin for collecting rainwater and can be walked on in dry conditions. Canals, pedestrian and cycle paths, squares, seats, play areas for all ages, picnic spaces, urban gardens, and spaces for organising events. All harmoniously embedded in the social and environmental context. The Water Park is not a futuristic idea, but a design solution that is already being implemented in Arcore and in a strip of land between Bernareggio and Carnate, while a third project is already being planned between Sulbiate and Aicurzio in the Vimercate area.
BrianzAcque's new format goes beyond the concept of an invisible underground overflow tank. It is a further element that the public operator of the integrated water service of Monza and Brianza adds to the plan of progressive measures to adjust to climate change aimed at making the area managed increasingly resilient.
A logo as a distinctive sign
A special logo has been created to mark and identify the BrianzAcque Water Parks, designed by the company's design and territorial planning department in collaboration with leading architecture and engineering firms and local authorities like the Parco Agricolo Nord Est. The logo is on a circular base that recalls the company's brand and symbolises the embrace and protection of the place, with a blue circle representing water and a path that refers to the cycle and pedestrian routes. The logo culminates in a stylised butterfly. As well as evoking the concept of nature, this insect is, perhaps, the most fascinating animal with its transformation. A metamorphosis that takes place when spaces are regenerated into green oases and then made available to the community. In the post-Covid era, there will be an ever-increasing need for a direct relationship with nature and for places that facilitate recreation and foster social relations that have been severely put to test by the pandemic: the Water Park also meets these needs.
Arcore: a prototype of a water park for everyone
The construction of the Arcore Water Park began last November and is the pilot project in a series of similar green infrastructures that BrianzAcque will soon be setting up in the municipalities of the area it serves, wherever there is a need to contain rainwater and where space allows doing so.
The project will cost around 800,000 Euro, 359 of which will be financed by the Lombardy Region under the "Northern Lambro River Contract" Framework Agreement for Territorial Development. The construction site is located between Via Gran Sasso and Via Monte Bianco, one hectare of agricultural land, within the Lambro Valley Park. A place chosen not by chance. A place chosen not by chance. An irrigation ditch runs perpendicular to the road, coming from higher ground. When it rains heavily, the watercourse overflows, creating flooding and problems for the area below. Thanks to the new format and to the virtuous process behind it, the water will be channelled through open stretches towards an infiltration basin. A large natural reservoir, planted with hygrophilous vegetation species, capable of receiving, storing, and dispersing water. A green meadow on which, if there is no rain, it is possible to walk, a symbol and landmark of the park. All the green infrastructure will be developed around it, conceived as an opportunity to reconstruct the environment and landscape with the ambition of promoting a new ecological culture and offering functions for community use and participation. This is how a pond, paths and pedestrian routes will be created to intercept the existing cycle and pedestrian paths with picnic areas, spaces for play and educational activities for adults and children. Communal gardens, limited by rainwater channels for irrigation to guarantee a sustainable and conscious management of water resources. And of course, water displays supplied by the pumping systems without using electricity. The entire context will be integrated with the planting of typical elements of the Brianza agricultural landscape: rows of vines, lawns, solitary trees, and elements of street furniture made using absolutely natural and recyclable materials. An ideal scenario to provide not only the local community, but also the new flows of proximity tourism born with the pandemic, with moments and opportunities for recreation, relaxation, meeting, and cultural and social growth.
Bernareggio-Carnate: the park set in a sports area
The other Water Park under construction is located between the municipalities of Bernareggio and Carnate, within the CTL3 sports area. It covers an area of 24,000 square metres, twice the size of Arcore, and will be completed in the first quarter of 2022. The project is financed by the Lombardy Region for 1.130 million Euro as part of the programme of urgent and priority interventions relating to the integrated water service. The total investment is EUR 2.26 million: the remainder will be borne by BrianzAcque. Once again, the work consists of a tank and a series of canals feeding it. They are positioned on the borders of the agricultural fields to collect and contain runoff water and drain it up to the water containment basin. All around is a cycle and pedestrian path and a mini-area arranged for resting. Special feature: inside the basin there will be a perennial pond fed by a groundwater well already constructed by BrianzAcque to irrigate the sports field. This stretch of water will serve as a habitat and resting place for certain species of amphibians and birds, completing the existing ecological corridor. To ensure that people can walk in the basin in dry weather, very gentle slopes have been created to allow an all-round enjoyment of the reservoir. Also in this case, the Water Park fits harmoniously into the existing naturalistic context to which connecting shrubs and hedges can be added leaving the visual cone onto the agricultural fields unaltered.
