Designed by modostudio, the proposal for the Piazza d’Armi Urban Park aims to create a thematic interaction between the competition area and the adjacent existing urban tissue. The architects accomplish this by means of creating a park for this city that is decontextualized from the neighboring urban space and, at the same time, directly related to the skyline of the nearby mountains. More images and architects’ description after the break.
This statement, which may seem a paradox, establishes itself by working on two important aspects: an artificial and a natural theme. The edges of the competition area, influenced by the surrounding urban structure and by the condition of these spaces, create a series of artificial and anthropological areas, that serve as a filter between the surrounding urban design and the area of the urban park.
The area of the church, the playground, the urban square, the marketplace, and the sports area, become interwoven artificial worlds at a neighborhood scale. At the competition area, one can find the urban park, a landscape that was deliberately alienated to the surrounding tissue, in order to give rise to a unique experience, abstracted from the context. This park, or better: landscape, becomes a vital element for the city: a place where the residents can experience a direct visual connection with the surrounding mountains. The park accommodates the theatre, a multifunctional building and a place of performance, but is also the cultural engine of the city, thanks to the many functions brought together there. The filter between the artificial and the natural areas also becomes a visual filter, established by the earthworks required to create the park, the “dunes”. The functional elements at the border of the lot are planmetrically characterized by streamlined shapes, aiming to create the image of forces that push the urban tissue towards the inside of the park.
The technologies used for the realization of the project, aim to take into account aspects of energetic and environmental sustainability, proposing a series of strategies that minimize the environmental impact of the intervention, and innovative technologies for the theatre, in particular for the materials used.
The art installation located along the walls that surround the marketplace wants to commemorate the tragedy experienced by the aquilian population with the earthquake of 2009. Everyday objects with no apparent value or meaning, are applied as color spots at the large wall that symbolizes a blank canvas.
Architects: modostudio Location: L’Aquila, Italy Design Team: Fabio Cibinel, Roberto Laurenti, Giorgio Martocchia Collaborators: Mariola Blas Gonzalez, Mario Calogero, Marina Diez Cascon, Anne-Sophie Buyck Consultants: Artist-Cova Rios Client: City of L’Aquila Phase: Mixed use Area: 108.300 sqm Year: 2012
