Place de la Republique

Place de la Republique is beautiful square wrought with problems on the border of the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements in Paris. Strangled with traffic, the everyday conflict between people and cars is a major obstacle to the use of the square.
My plan takes precedent from both the history of the site, and the Art Nouveau movement, to create a cohesive plan for the site. Traffic is rerouted around the square as it is now connected to the north east blocks. A raised pedestrian promenade that winds its way across the site like a vine, allows people to experience the city from a story above and walk through the canopies of the the beautiful Horse Chestnut trees. At street level a series of building/landform hybrid structures populate the perimeter of the square to help reduce the traffic noises as well as provide spaces for cafes, and accessible grassy hill sides for lounging. These structures rise up to to allow for multiple opportunities to access the raised promenade. A large open space is incorporated into the plan to allow for protests and rallies which traditionally take place in this square. On the opposite end a more intimate tree covered space is created with a water jet fountain for quite meetings and people watching.

Grand Place Lacework

Dam Square

FINAL REVIEW

Come out to see our final review: Manifesto and individual presentations.

December 17, 2010

Meyerson Hall, U Penn Campus (34th and Walnut)

Lower Gallery

11am-6pm

Place de la Republique - Paris, France

In a city of tourists, Place de la Republique is a respite for the locals. Once teaming with urban life, it is now cut off by the seven lanes of traffic that encircle it. The square has become a secluded island in a sea of cars, visited only by those brave enough to cross the street. Actions need to be taken to recover this great urban square to improve the quality of life for the three neighborhoods that surround it.

Trafalgar Square

Showtime Trafalgar!

Aquatic Trafalgar!

Piazza Venezia

This quadrangle shaped plaza, located at the foot of the Campidoglo hill and dominated by the majestic Palazzo Venezia and the imposing Vittoriano memorial, is considered to be the heart of Rome. Surrounded by the most unique bits of history this square has the potential to act as some vast outdoor museum-it in fact is bounded by the area of forti (roman forums), the campidiglio , and looks into the Colosseum at the palatine hill– yet now serves as one of the busiest traffic squares in the city.

Rather than being overpopulated by motorbikes, cars, and buses, which has turned it into a not pedestrian friendly space, the vastness of the square plus the dominance of the imposing surrounding buildings are what make the square not be so digestible at the human scale. Considering the fact that throughout Rome’s history, city planners have always tried to maintain both physical and symbolic connections between ancient and modern, now the design challenge is how to redefine a more pedestrian friendly urban space which encompasses both old and new within it.