international competition
location Piazza Mattarella, Parma (IT)
area 700 sqm
client Municipality of Parma
year 2009
with LAMBER + LAMBER e INOUT architettura
The project does not want to distort or reinvent the place, on the contrary through the inclusion of a few elements it wants to intensify the physical features of the court: introverted, essential, severe, static. It is necessary to trigger a series of dichotomies full – empty, dynamic – static, vertical-horizontal, inside-outside in order to emphasize the current quality of the square. One of the basic points of the project is the strong contrast between the dryness of the architecture (the arid immobility) of square Mattarella and the vibrant vegetation nearby. The court overlooking it. The trees fill every visual perspective. The project aims at treating the green of the trees as a foreign presence, also alienating, but able to generate new dynamics in terms of space and fruition. The choice of entering the trees, exploiting their verticality, makes the area of the court three-dimensional. The shadows identify always different areas on the land and redesign the façades hour after hour. The same view from the buildings on the square is distorted. Ii is filled with green. It becomes dynamic. The space is no longer entirely understandable at first glance. The square is no more revealed entirely but through the filter of the treetops, changing the perception of the public space from the buildings and defining areas with different degrees of intimacy. The selected type of tree is Ginkgo biloba. A slender tree, thin, vibrant, casting a light shadow. Furthermore in autumn it turns bright yellow generating a total transformation of the space and amplifying the perception of seasonal rhythms. This dynamic effect is in contrast with the almost metaphysical stillness of the square.
