Public place: Piazza Municipio | MICROSCAPE architecture urban design AA

The little Italian village of Povegliano, near Treviso, hadn’t a own square in his territory before the construction of Piazza Municipio. In 2006 the major announced a competition to choose the best project for their public places because the citizens need own space to imagine themselves like a community.
The intervention is around the Town hall and it relates to the construction of square with cycle-pedestrian circuit and new street. In addition there are new gardens.
The design methodology on which the project is based makes the system flow relational its backbone. The operation involved both the pattern of low intensity (cycle-pedestrian circuit) the identification of a new road-connecting carriage. The green areas allow access from the new square’s “public area” to the private residential area (north). The different space conformations create both continuity and give a special mark to the area, which is still part of heavily agriculture-influenced territory. The architectural-scale elements, working by repetition _ difference with the general system, have been interpreted as analog “figures” relying both of the site’s specific memory references and archetypes of public urban space.
The floor plan of the square area to the north becomes "active" thanks to the ever-changing LED lighting RGB signal, which by randomly inserting slabs of stone (Piasentina and Prun) generates a continuous light surface. The eastern boundary of public space is delegated to a metamorphosis system that is transformed from concrete reinforced shaved curtain into hedges, ending up in the fountain of green marble Issorie. The entrance walkway houses the Public Bulletin Board and is covered by a system of horizontal photovoltaic panels which are highly efficient (grid connected). This gives public area an independent energy source. The flooring of the entrance is in Ipè wood, suitable for outdoors, and within the flooring there are white LED spotlights. We have paid special attention to the balance between light sources and radiation, while avoiding any problem of light pollution through a system of control. The design clearly takes its cue from the urbanized surroundings on three sides of the square. The fourth side borders a piece of farmland, so that the square becomes a “mediator” between old and new, urban and rural, nature and high tech. With large stone surfaces, water features and vegetation, the new square offers a bit of everything, making it a perfect spot to while away some time, relax and socialize. Only at sunset does the square show its other face; conventionality is swept aside to make room for a playfulness. At night, the paving of the square becomes an ever-changing “carpet” of light, courtesy of randomly distributed elongated LED light boxes. The programming is geared to day/night and produces a range of different flashing light patterns. In addition, the RGB LEDs can assume all the colours of the rainbow.
Finally, the square becomes a point of reference within the urban context and the community.