by Yiannis » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:12 pm
Eleftheria Square and the Surrounding Area Competition Winner
Historical context, the last divided capital of Europe and the significance of the Eleftheria Square intervention:
We find ourselves engaged in a competition to design an urban plaza with deep history and full of contradictions.
On one hand, the presence of the massive Venetian fortification, which was designed to protect the city from invaders, de facto defines the extent of the ancient city and separates it from the modern city outside the walls. On the other hand, the “Green Line” separates the city’s two communities making it the last divided capital of Europe.
The significance of the intervention at Eleftheria Square, lies in the fact that it can become a catalyst, an opportunity for the urban unification of the whole Nicosia. An urban intervention that would be architecturally coherent and continuous and that would reinstate the Venetian Wall as a main part of the identity of the Capital.
Concept
On the basis of the items mentioned above, our concept takes the form of an architectural intervention, which is only part to a much larger urban planning gesture that aspires to organize and synthesize the whole of the Venetian wall, the Moat and the Fringes of the two parts of the city (inner and outer) into a unified whole.
As shown in the conceptual sketch included in the first panel of our proposal, the moat becomes a Green Belt which as a ‘necklace’ surrounds and unifies the Venetian wall and can become Nicosia’s Main Park, enhancing the quality of life by offering a range of recreational facilities such as spaces for rest during day time, walk and exercise during the cooler hours of the evening. It can also be used for Art exhibitions and installations, Sculpture gardens and sports activities, all around the perimeter of the Venetian Walls.
In order for these spaces to function properly we advocate the insertion of activators, facilities especially designed to promote the use of the Park at the Moat Level. At the same time, The Moat can be topographically inflated upwards making wide and accessible connections to the level of the surrounding streets.
As a consequence, Eleftheria square and the other bridging streets to the outer perimeter of the Venetian Wall become the gates to the inner city, which could have restricted access to cars and more pedestrianized streets. In order to achieve that we propose a car traffic analysis to calculate the required capacity for car parking and consolidation of these in privately run car park facilities, which can be placed under the streets, such as the one proposed under Omirou Ave, and even partly under the garden surface of the Moat. The placement of car parks under the garden surface would allow the “topographical infilations” to be combined with connections to the street level and maximize the available parking spaces making the construction of these projects feasible. The venetian wall would be restored and lit continuously to emphasize its presence during the night time. A pedestrian walk lined up with a continuous line of palm trees creates a walking path right next to the wall.