Windmills TARRAGÓ for urban agriculture

on the one site, to combine architectural design and climate change requirements. On the other site, city growth with the preservation of the rural environment has to be managed. As a result of the first challenge, implementation of renewable energy systems (e.g. photovoltaics, geothermal systems) for own consumption increases. More and more households increment investment in isolation, modern heating and other energy savings solutions.

More complex is the challenge to combine city growth and the conservation of rural acres. Mollet del Valles, a city close to Barcelona, with the highest population growth rates in Catalonia (having increased from 2000 inhabitants (1900) to round 6000 inhabitants in 1940 and from 20.000 in 1970 to 52.000 inhabitants till today) has succeed in this challenge. The efforts of this city have been priced by the Donation of Art & Design (“Fomento de las Artes y Diseño (FAD)”).
Since the 70’, Mollet is known as one of the industrial motors in Catalonia. At the same time, the city played a crucial role in the improvement of the agricultural surrounding in the last century. For eg., Felix Ferran – born in Mollet – was a pioneer in the re-cultivation of vineyards with American grapes.

Therefore is the conservation of the rural atmosphere of double importance: first to secure quality of life and secondly to preserve the historical-economic value of the region. The solution has been to build the “Pinetons” park in a 18 ha-area with a plain hill, originally cultivated with cereals and now with a small forest, which rises in the middle of the city. Olive, cherry and nuts trees together with sunflowers and soya constitute the vegetation. With the harvest, maintenance costs can be reduced.

Above all, two TARRAGÓ windmills secure irrigation. One windmill with a height of 18 m pumps water from 90 m depth into a reservoir located at the highest place of the area. From there, water flows to a small lake where the second windmill distributes the water.