ÁGORA - PROPOSAL FOR PLOVDIV SQUARE
International Competition, 2014, 2nd Round Shortlist
This proposal’s aim is to recover the historical identity of the ancient Agora, enhancing a pedestrian circulation throughout its remaining ruins, and creating spaces for its contemplation; at both the ruins’ level and at the main plaza level, above.
This proposal understands the central space of the Agora as a negative space located at the underground level — thus, a vortex, the Square as the Center. The typical arcade that surrounds the Roman Forum is mimicked in quiet and contemporary new structures above it, framing it. These structures accommodate a variety of program that improves the socio-cultural and daily experience of the Plovdiv Square users. Parallel to this main intention, it is also important for this proposal the clarity in the axis Municipality Plaza/Main Plaza crowned by the former building of CP House. This axis enhances the continuation of the pedestrian main street at North towards the square’s central climax at South.
Throughout the urban intervention, multiple points of seating/shading are proposed. Vegetal structures (trees) and architectural structures (arcades) provide a sense of protection and offer underneath them seating for resting, gathering, contemplating, in a combination of visual interactions between each other. Recovering the sense of the Agora, this proposal expects to collect all the currently fragmented elements as a whole.
