Barcelona students have launched a project to make the route to Collserola easier for visually impaired people, with the work focused on Torre Baró in Nou Barris. The initiative, called Acostem Torre Baró, was created by students from Escola d'Art i Disseny Deià.
The project places three tactile-visual panels along the route. They include Braille text and raised maps, and guide people from Canyelles metro station to the Bus 182 stop, which goes up to the castle viewpoint. They also show an alternative walking route along the pavement of Carretera Alta de les Roquetes.
The panels give information about Canyelles, Torre Baró castle and the local flora and fauna of Collserola. A fourth information point inside the castle's Nature Classroom adds more detail about wildlife, although that classroom is currently closed because of African swine fever.
Joan Heras, a visually impaired professor at the school, said Barcelona is still far from offering proper access to natural spaces such as parks, gardens and Collserola Park. He said blind people often need help to reach these places and move around safely, because they do not have enough references or directions.
The project took a year to complete and was developed with the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities. Escola Deià also worked with the Ajuntament, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, and other public bodies. The work formed part of Barcelona's Architecture Capital status, with students learning how accessibility needs to be built in from the start.
Interior design students made the lecterns, graphic print students produced the Braille panels, and interactive graphic students created the digital elements, including QR codes and the project website. The school says the aim is for this kind of system to be used at other access points to Collserola, so more residents can reach the area independently.
