The completed Comillas Waterfront Promenade reshapes the town’s edge between streets and beach as connected public space. Its defining move is a pair of landscape bands: a continuous route beside the shore and a quieter, planted strip inland, designed with the character of Cantabria’s dune landscapes in mind.
What changed along Comillas’s waterfront?
In Comillas, Cantabria, Spain, the project by Héctor Navarro and arkhitekton replaces a narrow pedestrian sidewalk and a parking-dominated waterfront with a more generous promenade, planted areas, renovated beach access and reorganized parking. The municipality describes the promenade as approximately 12 metres wide and says the intervention covers 2,375 square metres. It also reports renewed urban furniture, more efficient lighting and draining paving. Ayuntamiento de Comillas describes the work as an inaugurated waterfront urbanization and renaturalization project.
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The project pages identify the work as a 2026 project. Coverage reproduced by gooood gives a larger area figure of 5,400 square metres, while the municipal account gives 2,375 square metres. The published sources do not explain whether the figures refer to different boundaries or scopes, so they should be read as separate attributions rather than reconciled into one total. arkhitekton
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How does the two-band design meet the beach?
A continuous route beside the shore
The beachside band establishes a continuous pedestrian route while retaining the historic balustrade. Concrete pavers vary in tone and texture along the surface. This shore-facing path gives the waterfront a clear line of movement, connecting access points and public spaces rather than leaving the beach edge as a narrow passage beside parked cars.
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A quieter, planted strip inland
Set behind the main route, a greener band offers quieter paths and places to pause. Its design draws on the logic of dune ecosystems, without attempting to reproduce a dune as a literal landform. Reused limestone blocks shape gentle changes in terrain and double as informal seating, making the landscape itself part of how people occupy the space.
Sand is treated as a natural element of the coastal setting rather than simply something to exclude. The project description presents the relationship between sand, permeable paving and planting as part of the landscape design. Other described elements include new kiosks, a terrace beside La Caracola restaurant, renewed beach access and redesigned lighting.
What do the published figures say about the project?
| Measure | Published figure | Attribution and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention area | 2,375 square metres | Ayuntamiento de Comillas; publication year not stated on the page. |
| Project area | 5,400 square metres | Project description reproduced by gooood in 2026; scope is not defined in a way that can be matched to the municipal figure. |
| Promenade width | Approximately 12 metres | Ayuntamiento de Comillas; publication year not stated on the page. |
| Waterfront intervention cost | 700,000 euros | Ayuntamiento de Comillas; publication year not stated on the page. |
| Broader tourism sustainability plan | 3.1 million euros across 15 actions | Ayuntamiento de Comillas; this is the plan total, not the cost of the waterfront intervention alone. |
How are access and environmental performance described?
The municipality says the renewed beach accesses are intended to improve accessibility, particularly for people with reduced mobility. It also describes the paving as draining and says it improves water management. Project coverage presents permeable paving as a means of encouraging infiltration and reducing runoff, and photocatalytic pavers as contributing to air-quality improvement.
These are descriptions of design intent and proposed mechanisms, not published post-occupancy measurements. The available project accounts do not establish measured changes in runoff, infiltration or air quality after completion. The clearest evidence is therefore the physical design response: more pedestrian space, beach access, planting and paving selected to interact with water and sand.
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Why the project matters as public-space design
The promenade’s central idea is not a single new paving surface but a more layered transition between town and shore. The continuous coastal route supports movement; the planted inland band offers a slower, more sheltered experience. Retaining the balustrade preserves a recognizable edge, while varied paving, reused limestone and landscaping give the widened public realm a more varied character.
In its account of the inauguration, the municipality presents the intervention as part of a larger tourism sustainability plan. The project is credited to Héctor Navarro and arkhitekton, and is reported as completed and inaugurated by the Ayuntamiento de Comillas.
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