Location:

Olaszország, Nápoly

Text de prezentare a lucrării:

I have chosen Piazza del Mercato in Naples as my final design project after I spent half a year in Italy with a scholarship. The project area lies in the old town however cut off from the inner town. In the past the piazza was the centre of civic life of Naples until it was pushed into the background by the urban renewal of the early 1900s. At present the square is rather a transition zone between the historic city centre and the industrial harbour area - not being connected to either of them. It the axis of the piazza is a baroque style church which was rebuilt by Francesco Sicuro in 1786 and the surrounding two-story building complex was built at the same time. Today the buildings are in a poor condition and most of them - as the piazza itself - have became unutilized and abandoned. The church was damaged in an earthquake in 1980 and has been closed since then. Recently the quarter is one of Naples’ underused and degraded areas. The square is mainly characterised by ownerless emptiness surrounded by parking cars. The piazza does not have unified and well structured function. Unexploited and abandoned. It does not work as a marketplace -or just rarely-, instead children play football and after sunset gangs come to the street. Rediscovery and reinterpretation. Creating a space for the locals, a space which is adapting the Naples rhythms. Giving an initial push to recognize and dare to use the values and opportunities of the area. The versatility of the square is important to be a square which besides the new function is able to be a piazza for the everyday needs. A well-functioning space, a well-functioning community. A definite and unusual intervention that draws attention and approaches the spatial use from a new perspective. The starting point is to place two elements: a negative which is lowered compared to the ground level and a positive 40 meter high climbing tower. The lowered part is a football pitch where the ball always rolls back. A temporary market where bargaining and gossip are constant. The climbing tower is a challenge. Fight, reach the top, enjoy and release. The designed building is situated on the south side of the square thereby it leaves space to the piazza and at the same time separates from the ten-storey block of flats behind it. The buildings’ basement level is located recessed into the ground, with an opening in its north side towards the lowered space. The background areas and the bouldering area are located at the bottom floor.