By revisiting the medieval piazza through subtle redesign and slight elevation of the horizontal plane, the piazza becomes once again a central element that acquires a new identity emphasized by the delicate separation between open space and road axes. Consequently, the project reconstructs the ground pattern accordingly to the hierarchy imposed by the presence of a piazza on vertical elements.
A carefully designed pavement and topography, reflecting the natural flow of water, reinstates the piazza as the natural forecourt to the Castel of Torrechiara. The piazza returns to being the traditional venue for socio-economic and cultural events.
The typical riverstone pavement, used in the castel of the city acts as a prelude to the pavement leading to the castle entrance. A geographic characteristic shared by these sites is their proximity to rivers and torrent-like valleys, from which limestone cobbles were historically extracted for construction.
Torrechiara, Italy | Competition | 2.076 m2