A Panda da Dá, owned by Finsa since 1989, is a large 410-hectare estate that, over the past 35 years, has become a benchmark for forest management. To continue to transform the site, a competition was launched in 2024 for the architectural and landscaping renovation of the site. In phase zero, participants were asked to find a way to connect the farm’s core areas (A Panda da Dá, As Pereiras and As Naves). The proposal of the winning team, formed by Atelier Ander Bados, Estudio Copla, Bamba Studio, TO and Senén Rivero, is to do so through four thematic routes.
“Even on our first visit, we saw that it’s a very beautiful place to walk”, explains Rivero, a landscaper who has also worked extensively on environmental education projects, about the origin of the idea. “It’s very well maintained, with a very clean understory, and the radiata pine plantations are visually beautiful”. From this perspective, they came up with the idea of creating four routes, “not hiking trails, but rather themed walks“, to demonstrate, among other things, the complete traceability of wood production. “We think it’s a unique opportunity and it’s amazing to be working with someone who allows us to do this”, he says.
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The four routes
In the project report, they explain that during flights over the farm in the 1950s, they observed a hamlet from which a series of paths branched off, leading to nearby farms. Therefore, “the strategic occupation of the territory was generated from the hamlet through routes that allowed for exploring opportunities to cultivate crops (corn, rye, vegetables), gather wild fruits (chestnuts, hazelnuts), or raise livestock (cattle, horses)”, the text highlights. The proposal calls for the recovery of these paths that “go out to conquer the territory” through thematic routes that highlight “different aspects of sustainable land management”: forest management, food, renewable energy, and the environment.
Forest management route: “O Ciclo da Madeira”
The inspiration for this route was the team’s first visit to the farm, explains Rivero, where Carlos Iglesias, from Finsa’s forestry department, gave them a tour of the farm, explaining the different aspects of the wood cycle. “Thinking about that tour and the talk he gave us, we considered how we could improve the experience and provide more resources to the people who guide the tours. We wanted to include or represent all the elements of the forest cycle,” he notes.
In the project report, they describe the route in more detail:
- Starting at the A Panda core, you will visit the forest nursery and the timber arboretum.
- Visit the forest plantation areas, where you can observe trees at different stages of growth or analyse the planting process, among other activities.
- Arrival at the logging area, where a showcase of logging techniques is proposed for viewing.
- Continuing through the storage and drying area, where the felled or stacked logs are also shown.
- An example of the sawing process, where the proposal is to create an audiovisual installation in As Naves, showing the process of transforming felled trees into construction materials.
- Return to A Panda, where you can see the use of the final product in buildings and the energy recovery of biomass in the boiler.
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Gastronomic route: “The flavours of A Panda”
In the entire architectural proposal of the winning team of the competition, gastronomy was very important, says Senén Rivero, so a route was designed with food in mind. “The farm is a space of great mushroom value, and in the deciduous area there is also a lot of wild fruit”, he explains. “We wanted to highlight these resources and combine them with ethnobotany, linking them to traditional remedies”. The route of this trail, as described in the report, is as follows:
- Departure from the A Panda da Dá centre, where there will be vegetable gardens, a fruit tree area, a greenhouse and cultivated mushrooms.
- It runs through pine and deciduous areas, with significant mushroom value, where initiatives such as setting up tables to display collected mushrooms and holding workshops and informative posters are proposed. In this area, you can also take ethnobotanical tours and collect wild fruits and medicinal herbs.
- In As Pereiras, they propose creating a honey interpretation area.
- Return to A Panda, where the harvest is cooked and tasted at the central table.
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Renewable route: “A sustainable Panda”
This route, which focuses on renewable energy, “will be designed more for schools, institutes, vocational training, and other areas”, explains Rivero. “We realised that there are quite a few wind farms on Mount Caxado, which is right next door; we propose using solar, photovoltaic, and biomass energy, as well as a small water mill and a mini-hydro generator. Seeing so many renewable energies in use in such a small space seemed like an interesting educational resource for, for example, someone in a photovoltaic installation training program”, he explains. The route is as follows:
- Departure from Mount Caxado, from where you can clearly see the entire estate and the wind farm.
- Visit to the old river mill used for grinding grain, which allows visitors to explore the use of hydraulic power.
- Visit the As Naves area, where a renewable energy hub is proposed.
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Environmental route: “Da Natureza”
This is the route that, for the moment, they have left somewhat more open. “It would be a tour through the crags of the riparian forests. The idea is to offer another route for environmental education with schools, species identification, etc.”, Rivero emphasises. In their report, they are clear about the inspiration for this tour: “The A Panda da Dá farm has the great appeal of being located in a place of unparalleled beauty”. Furthermore, it is a place with a wealth of species, as has been seen in biodiversity studies, and this could be highlighted during the route:
- Exit from the parking lot or the A Panda core.
- Pinus radiata plantations
- Entrance to the deciduous forest.
- Rest and analysis of land management at the exit of the deciduous forest (a place with very good views).
- Arrival in As Pereiras.
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