The area chosen as the site for the Kozani X 4 architectural ideas competition is situated in the town centre and consists of 4 building blocks and the adjacent Lassani square. The selected cluster is a typical group of building blocks that constitute the urban fabric of Kozani, since in many places across the city there is at least one open public space for every 7 or 8 building blocks. The design proposal deals with the idea of the 3+1 typology, investigating the potentiality of blending a minimum of three typical building blocks with an adjacent open public space leading to a new larger city cell. The integration of the existing open air spaces with the streets of the “cross” result in an extended and unified space as well as in creating a “yard” for the rest of the building blocks, a space for locals to utilize as the background of their everyday life.
In order to create a functional and extensive public space, a flexible landscape of neutral materials is introduced, capable of unifying the streets and the open public spaces of the site, integrating the existing green areas and creating an urbanscape for pedestrians that stimulates the user throughout its area. Moreover, the design attempts to stress the cultural background of Kozani by spreading ephemeral cultural events in the urban fabric that combine or supplement each other in addition to enhancing the green areas so as to ensure the greater environmental impact and benefit. In order to achieve the latter, the proposed flexible landscape is combined with a new pattern that derives from the geometry of the rhombus, a decorative motif very familiar to the traditional architecture of Macedonia. The new pattern also facilitates diagonal flows and movements in space. Its role in the design is to form various shapes of green patches - which on occasion condense or even overlap in order to create extended green areas of dense green- surrounding the existing or proposed trees. Alternatively, the rhombus geometry forms platforms for events, playgrounds or even benches. The patterns create multiple shifts and folds to the landscape that organize the proposed space by creating walks for pedestrians and additional sitting spots. In order to enhance the cultural pulse of the city, in case of important landmarks close or within the site (such as the Lassani mansion lying to the southeast of the square) and always in conjunction with the landmark, the rhombus pattern shifts the topography of the landscape for a small open air theatre to take place. This urban typology by default can host open air events or plays for festivals such as the “Lassaneia” festival. Furthermore, a shelter with a green roof is introduced for each new cluster of building blocks capable of hosting ephemeral fairs or markets for books, traditional products, crafts, artworks etc. Even more, the combined function of the green shelters can form a network of open air markets or points of interest that spread throughout the city. |