A promenade in Comillas that lets the sand stay

Comillas’ renewed waterfront is interesting for what it refuses to fight. In this project by Héctor Navarro and arkhitekton, sand blown inland from the beach is not treated as a nuisance to be swept away, but as part of the promenade’s everyday life. The scheme takes its cue from the Cantabrian coast’s dune ecosystems, creating a gradual shift between the town and the sea rather than a hard edge between pavement and beach.

That idea shows up in the materials and planting. Permeable paving and planted strips allow sand and water to settle into the ground, while dune-like beds bring coastal vegetation into the seafront. Local limestone riprap helps shape edges, seating areas and surface changes, tying the promenade back to the rocky landscape nearby. Existing trees have been kept as shaded stopping points, and the benches are spaced out as individual places to pause and look over the bay, instead of one long line of street furniture.

The redesign also reduces the presence of cars and gives more room to pedestrians. There is a light new ice-cream kiosk integrated into the seafront, but the larger point is the public landscape itself: wind, vegetation, movement and shifting sand are all allowed to leave their mark. This was published by designboom via its reader submissions platform, so it is best read as a project presentation rather than a reported feature. Worth a look if you like seaside public spaces that work with a place’s natural messiness rather than tidying it away.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 1 October 2026. Read the original

Photos: designboom · See all 8