Parque Juan Carlos I

Opened in 1992, the park is located between Madrid’s Barajas Airport and its Trade Fair site. It has some interesting and dramatic individual features. But the overall spatial design is so bad that one can hardly say it exists. The main structuring element is an almost-useless ring-road: no one could want to walk round it; the drainage gratings would make it a hazard for cyclists; the bridges are too narrow for cars. Overall, the design seems more suited to a North European garden festival. Nothing has been learned from the long tradition of relating park and garden and design to the unique landscape of Central Spain. Rainfall is low; winters are long and cold; summers are short and hot; the design is awful. (gardenvisit.com)