PĂŠcs The European Green Capital Public Space Design Developed by; Mohammad Almarayat Yakup Aktas Omar Alnair Khaled Alqudah David Ojo
CHAPTER 02 Public space design for a chosen action area
INTRODUCTION
Our chosen area for our public space design is the Korhaz ter. We have decided to upgrade and refurbish this area, and create a new public square. Our urban renewal project focused on over five thousand sqm of land area. The major change in the design of the area is the removal of the intersection and vehicle road in that area, turning it into a car free zone. Human beings and green environment became the priority of this project. The square with all its elements are designed to ensure that a pedestrian-friendly environment is prioritised, that driving in the area becomes less desirable, and that public spaces are both pleasant and functional while also including as much greenery as possible. The open and welcoming urban space is an architectural design that accommodates and promotes green transportation, climate change adaptation, and biodiversity The road on the eastern part of the area, leading uphill towards Barbakan from the square was closed off, with the installation of bollards. And in turn, the remaining existing road was replaced with a new twoway streetcar lane and there was also an addition of a two-way bike lane in the area. This is part of the wider concept to extend the car-free zones in the downtown area of the city. The bike and streetcar lines run from the Petofi street to the Rakoczi street.
There is a stop for the street cars in the vicinity of the main square area, so that those who use the street cars can have easy access to the newly designed square. The shelters are just simple precast slabs on steel pillars, slightly offset on both sides of the tracks. The square is oriented in a somewhat linear North to South direction. It starts off wide and then basically funnels down towards the south, leading to a thinner section which becomes the streetcar and bicycle lanes, and pedestrian walkways on both sides of the lanes.
For the ground covering, we decided to use concrete paving slabs. The concrete slabs come in a diverse range of colours, sizes and textures to meet the demands of any environment. As such we were able to select slabs having different colour shades and measurements. This led to the creation of an intriguing pattern in the whole area of the square. The concrete paving slabs deliver on both durability and visual appeal, creating urban spaces to be enjoyed, moved through and experienced for years to come. For the bicycle lane, the ground covering is red asphalt, and there is a stone finish to highlight the path of the streetcar lane.
The new seating system is made of glass fibre reinforced concrete solid elements. Durability and robustness were paramount, with the design being able to withstand both natural forces and vandalism. It is a contemporary solution and the addition of timber slats to these block elements present a more traditional seating which can be considered as a form of benches. As such people can choose to sit on the either the wooden or concrete surfaces. The concrete elements are finished with Clear Penetrative Sealer and Anti-Graffiti Clear. The timber for the benches can be any hardwood suitable for decking, which also encourages recycling from the city they are finished as Oiled Timber Seat Slats. As it is suitable to double as both a retaining wall and seating we used it for exactly that. The seating is created on the perimeter of newly installed planting beds and is designed to minimize maintenance. The design permits informal seating in different directions essentially surrounding while also being surrounded by greenery. Planting beds and grassy areas are enclosed within square or rectangular shapes of different sizes and, along with the seating and benches, form an articulated system of pathways and areas that are not only places for relaxing in the shade, but also prevent vehicle access.
In an order to provide even more useful features for our project, we installed various other facilities in the square. Among those are bicycle racks, to encourage the use of the public square. With the new bicycle highway which runs through the square, it serves as a stop for rest from riding or is useful in the event that people would like to continue on foot into the city centre, or use our new streetcar system. We added drinking fountains which are very useful in times of extreme temperatures and also a few trash cans around the are to promote recycling and make sure the square stays in prime condition. Tree planting is extremely important in the square, there are bigger trees in the planting beds which generally provide shading over the seating area, and there are smaller trees all around the square, which help the climate and also provide shading. In place of some of the paving slabs in the ground, we put in simple grass squares, which compliment and bring in an new element to the overall design. In some of the planting beds, there are perennials, which bring some colour to the area. With all these elements we are able to create a new area in the city that can have a different feel as opposed to the Szechenyi square or other squares in the city.
EVALUATION
With a focus on the main design ideas and features of our public square, we would like to discuss how our new proposed public space fits in to our original concept idea. We have taken steps to make sure that our design reaches quite a number of the indicators that govern the selection of a European Green Capital city. The first and most visible change is the addition of the street car lanes. The addition streetcar lanes automatically means the addition of electric streetcars to the methods of public transportation. From the beginning of our design process we had highlighted transportation as an issue that we would definitely like to solve. This new streetcar lane came to be as a result of our original concept to move the position of the M6 road out of the city. It is a direct answer to the idea of restricting Heavy duty/ Goods transport vehicles in the city. This allowed us to extend the car free zones that exist in the city and as a result it led to the increase of pedestrian zones in the city. We were also able to create a new bicycle path right alongside the streetcar lane. It basically functions as a bike highway, as no cars are allowed with an exception for permitted cars or emergency services. Both of these new lanes run directly through our refurbished square. Because of our focus on this, we are able to contribute to the overall reduction in CO2 emissions and also the improvement the air quality from the transportation sector.
Planting beds and grassy areas are enclosed within square or rectangular shapes of different sizes and, along with the seating and benches, form an articulated system of pathways and areas that prevent vehicle access. These major changes also help in our aim to make driving in the area become less desirable. Our design encourages the use of green vehicles and modes of transportation, by creating a convenient place for the storage of e-bikes, the exchange of rentable scooters and micro mobility. We are thereby supporting the sustainable urban mobility of the city. We believe there can never be too much green in an area, as such we took steps to ensure that there was an abundance of greenery in the area. There is a variety of trees and perennials around. The huge trees sprouting up from the planting beds, are great natural shaders for those who would like to sit and relax. The idea to select furniture that doubles as a seat and a planting bed is good, because we have worked at creating a sustainable land, with enough free space for whatever activities want to take place. It is a natural way to adapt to the climate change. This is also bolstered by the addition of drinking fountains to the square. Cold water readily available will help in the regulation of temperature during extreme conditions.
There are also many smaller trees spread all around the square, which provide not just shading but a more pleasing and aesthetic look. The greenery then again extends to the ground level, as instead of the concrete paving slabs, we opted to instead add more greenery to the area, by having low cut grass in some of the squares. The addition of the bike lanes offer a strategic value to our square, as it directly encourages the utilisation of the square. With a number of bike racks around, cyclists can take a break and enjoy some time in the square. The aforementioned perennials present an opportunity for people to be exposed to more nature and biodiversity, while also brightening up the day, with the colourful scene the flowers create. There are a number of sanitary waste bins spread all around the square to promote the proper disposal of waste, as well as selective waste bins next to the streetcar stops. The street lights in the square, were replaced by solar powered LED lights, which directly improve the overall energy performance of the city. The big change to the system of transport affected our design in a very good way, and as such we were able to reach quite a number of the factors that help determine the European green capital.
Site plan (city context, overview) 1:3000
GSEducationalVersion
Site plan (action area context) 1: 500
GSEducationalVersion
GSEducationalVersion
20.58
3.08
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1.74
10 48
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10 48
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A-A SECTION M = 200
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10 48
1.74
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GSEducationalVersion
D
5.97
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10 46
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10 43
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B-B SECTION M = 200
0.00
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Various shades of concrete pavers
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0.00
-0.15
-0.15
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Red asphalt for bicycle path
Stone finish for street car lanes
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GRC sitting elements
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Vegetation
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HORIZONTAL DETAIL M 1:75
80 1
13
1
13
1
13
1
24
45
13
20
R2 5
15
30
>25
4
15
4
12
3
R1
>15 12
10
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CURB DETAIL
M 1:10
R1 -Concrete paving slabs 38mm -Sand bed or crushed stone 40mm -Compressed gravel filling support, filter and frost protection layer >250mm
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M 1:10
FURNITURE DETAIL R2 -Wearing course -Bonding layer -Bituminous load-bearing layer -Reinforced concrete roadway -Compressed gravel filling support, filter and frost protection layer
30mm 50mm 100mm 120mm >250mm