Lake Jará Urban Park
A park that unites the city and the environment in the Amazon
The municipality of Juruti maintains 62% of its native forests conserved, but the accelerated population growth in recent years has caused constant changes in the territory that negatively affected the region’s ecosystem.
In this context, Lake Jará appears as an important structuring element of the landscape and, at the same time, as one of the most sensitive and needy areas for regulation and protection. Among the main factors that accelerated its degradation process, there are, not only irregular occupations in the surroundings, but also, the discharge of effluents “in natura” in its waters and the implementation of access roads without an adequate rainwater collection system.
The project aims at the development of planned public use on the banks of the lake, focusing on controlling the advance of the urban spot over its limits and raising the population’s awareness of its relevance, including developing activities that will generate local income and that will encourage the sustainable use of natural resources of the region.
Lake Jará and its surroundings add up to an area of 240 hectares with enormous potential for public use for leisure and are part of the cultural-historical and natural heritage of the municipality, in addition to constituting a natural reservoir for supplying the city. Belonging to the Lower Amazon Mesoregion, Juruti holds a large and preserved forest area, where the Amazon rainforest biome predominates.
The planning strategy starts with the implementation of an environmental park on the City Hall land, comprising actions to promote public use in other properties that connect the areas involved, that will develop a window of public interest to the lake. The connection of the lake to the urban fabric is strengthened by the proposition of a bicycle path creating a leisure circuit in Juruti.
The park’s proposal is structured in three zones. The Urban Zone, which creates a space of convergence and encourages public life in the municipality, housing sociocultural uses and activities, supporting the insufficiency of public spaces, recreation and tourism assistance in Juruti. On the other hand, The Connection Zone, creates a transition space between the zones, formed by a forest region with less anthropic interference and proposition of contemplative uses. Finally, there is the Lake Zone, where uses related to water and ecotourism have been proposed, in addition to various spaces for contemplation.
The program also includes: the Tourist Assistance Center (CAT), Wild Animal Screening Center (CETAS), Library, Auditorium, Bathrooms, Food Services, Research Support, Structuring of Trackways and Lookouts, Deck and Natural Pool.
The concept for the proposed constructions incorporates elements of vernacular, indigenous and riverside architecture, seeking elements in traditional architecture and the use of local materials, traditional construction techniques, regional typologies and integrated spaces adapted to the natural environment. Modular elements made of mud are proposed, which is a technique widely used in the region. In the living spaces and free areas of the park, permeable, recyclable and / or certified materials are used, considering the entire life cycle of the building, including its use, maintenance, and recycling.
Based on the understanding of the determinants of thermal comfort, imposed by local climate conditions, passive and bioclimatic strategies were prioritized, such as the use of cross ventilation and natural lighting, considering the strategies of local and traditional knowledge built throughout history and highlighting the presence of the Sateré-Mawé (Native American Brazilian tribe) culture in the territory.
