Feroviarilor Park
CONCEPT
The river, in its nature, is a magnet of activity, whether industrial or public, and all big cities started their development on the shores of a nearby river. Furthermore, it is also known that the water has a calming effect on people, which makes its presence even more valuable for the city. The tendency throughout the last years, not only in Cluj-Napoca, but also in the capital of our country, Bucharest, was to completely, but somehow undesignedly, ignore its value, in terms of administration and/ or integration (an adaptive kind). Therefore, this proposal is ought to be considered a bridge between the city and its residents, a way to make its parts communicate better and rely on each other in terms of self-development. Having in mind various examples all around Europe, where the shores of the rivers can even be considered plaza-type of spaces, the project’s main purpose is to identify the kind of functions that can activate an area close to a river, to acknowledge them as being vital to the life of the city, and to adapt the existing in a way that it cannot function without its improved form anymore. The presence of the park on the side of the river is the perfect starting point for the adaptive-reuse of the space, that used to be a meeting point for people living nearby.
THE RIVER AS THE MAIN LINK BETWEEN IMPORTANT POINTS INSIDE OF THE CITY
Our interest is to give back to the people the shores of the river, as they were before being taken by the industrial revolution: a pole of different activities which are sustained by the presence of the water. The other important points situated on the side of the river (as it is shown in the diagram) can only come in useful to maintaining the correct performance of the area by their continuous human presence and activities which keep the place “alive”.
COLORS
Colors represent the main design idea when it comes to finding the perfect type of vegetation, therefore the choices regarding the plants to be used were made entirely on how the general aspect of the park would be throughout the year. The leaf colors add to the dynamic of the space, making it stand out in a sea of grey (the urban development). The idea of raised terraces comes from the need to integrate the “green” at all levels of height, and also to emphasize proposed built elements.
AMBIANCE
The proposed building part defines the park configuration and creates a gradual passage from the outer green to the built space, generating an intrinsic spatial relation between the park activities, the landscapes and the views. In this way the whole space becomes animated and full of live. Built elements, as well as their materiality are thought to blend in with the “green” of the park. Patches of grass appear to rise from the concrete, built elements seem to arise from the ground. The pillars of the pavilion, but also of the bird-watching installment get their design inspiration from the white birch forest.
LOCATION
CLUJ-NAPOCA, Romania
YEAR
2018
SITE AREA
53 457 sqm
STATUS
Concept / Competition entry