The thermometer rose to 33 degrees in the Eixample on Wednesday, July 19, one of the hottest days so far this summer and, therefore, a perfect opportunity to focus on the new Consell de Cent street. Well, actually, not the magnifying glass, but an approved and professional infrared thermometer with a laser pointer, an invention with a thousand different applications, sure, but in this case ideal to verify that a bench in the sun is 20 degrees hotter than one in the shade (and that they are made of wood, not metal), which the log chipping beds are hotter than one might think (almost 50 degrees if the sun shines on them), that some elements of urban furniture should perhaps be re-evaluated (the so-called ‘lacasitos’ in the Girona square, for example), but that, in general terms and despite everything, it is an ideal invention to certify that the new Consell de Cent works as an outdoor climate refuge.
Indiana Jones said it (and was wrong) in the third of his adventures. He used to tell his archeology students that an X never marks where the treasure is buried, and then in Venice, several scenes later, it turns out that a giant 10 in Roman numerals just pointed the way to explore. Something like this can be said about the fact that right on Consell de Cent street, between Paseo de Gràcia and Pau Claris, which is as central as possible, is Raig, the oldest store in Barcelona dedicated to selling scientific devices, which in three years, by the way, will be one hundred years old. That’s where he came from Infrared thermometer employed in this field work, german technologya, in this case a model 330 of the TFA brand, capable of taking temperatures of all types of surfaces on a scale that goes from negative 50 degrees Celsius to positive 330. Margin, therefore, more than enough.
Nothing better than starting the field work with those mentioned ‘snackies’. Of the four squares that have been generated each time two green axes intersect, the one most exposed to sunlight, that is, the least wooded and least shaded, is Girona with Consell de Cent. That has an explanation. The subsoil is occupied by a shallow metro station and, thus, the possible architectural and landscaping solutions were very limited. However, what the thermometer reveals there invites a couple of reflections.
The ‘lacasitos’ (this is how those responsible for the project refer to them) are those giant blocks of stone, the perfect height to sit on, come on, for what they were installed for, and that occupy the central circle of the square. There are black and there are beige. At noon, the first ones exceed 50 degrees by tenths. The seconds do not reach 40, 37 degrees at best. The difference is remarkable. In a way, it could be said that this is the way in which each of these blocks contributes or not to the comfort of the square. One thing is the ambient temperature, what has been said, 33 degrees in the shade on Wednesday, according to official meteorological measurements, and quite another What role does each element of street furniture play in the middle of the heatwave?
The black ‘lacasitos’ are a stove. The trees planted in the upper half of the square, less affected by the metro, will alleviate the situation in two or three years. They will have grown. But the neighbors and, above all, the owners of the businesses at street level, are somewhat complaining about the final result of this street crossing.
It is not only because they can compare it with the more tree-lined intersections of Enric Granados, Borrell and Rocafort, greener and thus cooler, but because they believe that the decision that the central circle of that square be made of dirt and not granite and panot, as in the rest of the Consell de Cent, It’s a nuisance every time the wind blows. Is it at least a less warm surface, which would be at least a consolation? Neither. The thermometer reveals that it is at exactly the same temperature as the rest of the square when the sun hits, about 37 degrees.
The great thing about Consell de Cent is the exuberant presence of vegetation, more so in some sections than in others, but in general terms it certainly deserves the description of green axis. at two in the afternoonwith the city made an oven, the granite slabs of Consell de Cent (one of the nine types of pavement on that street) They are, measure the thermometer, at 27 degrees, that is, five below room temperature. The landscape, in a way, corroborates what the laser pointer reveals. Just look up. People walk preferably in the shade, but the street at that time is not just a place to go from here to there. It is also a place to be, like a park. The banks, and there are many, are mostly occupied. Above all, of course, those who are in the shadows. That’s right. One of the surprises provided by the thermometer is that the woods of the benches in the sun they are far from any comfort. 54 is a lot of degrees. The same bench model under the shade of a tree is 20 degrees cooler.
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This difference invites to explain a little known aspect of the green axes. Most of the trees, that is, those that were there before the reform, give more shade to the old sidewalks and the facades of the buildings than to the central area, now preferred for the promenade. The plan, in the medium and long term, is that any tree that dies and must be replaced is not replaced by a new specimen in the same tree hole that the deceased has left. The surface of the installed flower beds will allow them to be relocated in a more central place. The shadow will be bigger. However, the infrared thermometer already allows compare the central point of the Consell de Cent road with the same point in Aragó.
They are parallel roads, separated by just 100 meters, but urbanistically distanced in an abysmal way. The center point of the Consell de Cent pavement was at 32 degrees. Three minutes later, that is, the time to get there and activate the laser pointer, the temperature in the middle of the Aragó road was 45 degrees. In times of heat waves, the asphalt is almost a frying pan. Fifteen degrees more and it would be possible to fry an egg.