Urban landscape revival projects, and particularly city centre revival, play a greater role as part of the policies concerning big cities rehabilitation. From the complex aspects that they deal with, we will resume on the issues concerning the urban plantings in general, and the socio-cultural issues.
In this context, an important accent is being put on the usage of plants that are adapted to the urban climate, constantly strike by pollution, heat and drought. Regarding social issues, a crucial role is being given to the public space and its capacity to generate civic and urbanity, social mix and cultural diversity.
Being the centre of the social and cultural life in Bucharest, Magheru-Balcescu Boulevard lacks proper planning of public space which seems to be perceived rather as a residue of the built area. It is surfeit with improvised parking; it lacks street furniture and visual identity.
The project seeks an aesthetic and cultural rehabilitation of the public space so that it becomes itself an attraction establishing a boost to the public urban life. The project aims the (re)establishment of the human scale, finding solutions consistent with the needs of interaction between pedestrian and public space, in our case the boulevard, the need for shade, coolness, to shorten the path (shortcut) and for an unhindered walk (indirectly goal-oriented movement) . Interventions will not be a ‘face-lift’ for the notorious boulevards in Bucharest, but rather a functional, aesthetic and environmental arch of connections and a reconsideration of the identity of places. The understanding of the character and the reading of the context of each site separately is crucial in the process of planning.
The studied perimeter exceeds Universităţii Square – Romană Square section, including urban tissue adjacent to the great boulevard. On one hand there is the area adjacent to Calea Victoriei, clearly influenced by the plotting of the two axes and on the other hand the area adjacent to Ioanid Garden, less dense.
One of the first concerns in order to elaborate the strategy was to establish an alternative route to scroll the boulevard, a cultural route that brings together urban areas with high potential for landscape design: Universităţii Square, Colţea, TNB esplanade, the areas adjacent to Eva and Leonida blocks. Also this approach seeks to show a new perspective over the dull space that is now Magheru-Bălcescu Boulevard by reopening the courtyards and gangways, restoring connections with adjacent areas and by regaining the public space for the pedestrian, increasingly neglected lately in front of the automobile.
- Notes : In order to achieve a new perception of the boulevard and to show an unseen and maybe ignored face of the city, we propose opening up the alleyways, passages and the narrow streets full of Bucharest’s inter-war charm, linking them in an alternative route. Most of them represent real shortcuts for those who use them ‘on their way to work’, but can become alternative for the ‘unhindered Sunday walk’. Thus, we propose dualistic approach in reception and usage of these spaces, and invest them with great value as public space. The walk on Magheru should not be limited to the plane movement on one of its sidewalks. Instead we propose a ‘drift’ behind the continuous front of monumental facades, to spaces seen as story tellers of the carving of the great boulevard. The project also aims to provide an alternative vision to the way the vegetation is inserted in an urban environment, with extremely harsh conditions for plants. Vegetation comes to 'support' the pedestrian. Trees provide precious shade. Shrubs provide fresh green stripes, guidelines or a simple separation of pedestrian circulation from parking. Perennial flowers enrich with colour and scent. In order to naturalize the studied perimeter in light of its inclusion in the green axis of Bucharest we suggest a 'green geometry' as adapted and adaptable complex structure.
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- Contact Person : Ioana Tudora; Ioana Streza; Christian Voinescu
- Image Title : strategy
- Image Desc : The project seeks an aesthetic and cultural rehabilitation of the public space so that it becomes itself an attraction establishing a boost to the public urban life. The project aims the (re)establishment of the human scale, finding solutions consistent with the needs of interaction between pedestrian and public space, in our case the boulevard, the need for shade, coolness, to shorten the path (shortcut) and for an unhindered walk (indirectly goal-oriented movement) . Interventions will not be a 'face-lift' for the notorious boulevards in Bucharest, but rather a functional, aesthetic and environmental arch of connections and a reconsideration of the identity of places.
