Harmonising with Nature? Banyoles 2004 World Championships

Blending with the environment, Banyoles’ finish tower
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Banyoles, Spain knows rowing at the premier level. The town is just down the road from Barcelona and was the rowing venue for the 1992 Olympic Games. However the locals had to deal with an imposing metal structure looming over a huge area cleared for the grandstands.

?The environmentalists felt it to be a strain on the ecosystem, and the general population of Banyoles thought it was an eyesore,? says Banyoles Executive Director, Carles Dinares. So the finish tower and grandstand were removed.

For the last decade the finish line was deficient of tower and spectator seating. When regattas came to Banyoles, ?time takers would stand on a rickety set of steps while spectators had to watch the races from the 800 metre mark,? says Dinares.

When Banyoles won the bid for the 2004 junior and senior non-Olympic World Championships the organising committee worked with local interest groups to come to an agreement on a finish tower and grandstands that would blend into the landscape and be long-lasting. Lake Banyoles, a natural lake is cherished for its ecological value and the area lauded for the beauty of its natural surroundings. On the edge of the lake the town of Banyoles boasts a rich history dating back 1,200 years when the Sant Esteve monastery was founded.  

Lake Banyoles through the finish tower
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With reconstruction of the rowing venue for the 2004 World Championships, work began to reclaim Banyoles to first-rate venue status. The chosen tower structure, now under construction, blends with the environment by using wooden planks and the grandstands will be designed around natural terracing.

?With the ground broken for construction of the finish tower, the hole in the rowing infrastructure is finally being patched,? says Dinares.