IT
The project is part of a series of interventions, promoted by the Municipal Administration, and aimed at the redevelopment of the city, spread over three distinct areas: Hungary Square and Belvedere Square (under construction), Churchyard of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, and Square adjacent to Hungary Square. These places that represent the heart of the town, due to time and the carelessness of their users have been subject to progressive deterioration: damaged or missing furnishings and lack of lighting were present almost everywhere, with the result of having generated a total estrangement on the part of the people, mainly due to the impossibility of using these spaces.
The main request of the client, therefore, was to ensure that they regained a distinctive character, in order to stimulate a new sense of belonging in the inhabitants, inducing them to reappropriate it, above all through "use". In order not to overload the surroundings, already full of random additions, it was decided to focus attention on the insertion of a new street furniture that would give a more captivating and contemporary image to the square and the neighboring places, object of intervention. The first design operation was to work on the margins of the spaces in order to define and underline the areas intended for people, which are always located inside them.In this regard, a type of furniture was chosen - a seat with an integrated LED lighting system, which generates a sort of luminous backdrop that circumscribes the spaces dedicated to interaction, defining them in a specific way. The glow of the furnishings, almost grazing the ground, acts as a counterpoint to the existing lighting system, enhancing the spaces. Specifically, a real "island for socializing" was created in the churchyard, characterized by the use of furnishings with variable morphologies, which, as in a sort of compositional crescendo, pass from clear-cut and decisive shapes along the edges - the Althea Benches, in white cement and acrylic coating by the Calzolari Company – with curvilinear and soft shapes placed in the central part – the Stone benches in Ultra Hight Performance Concrete by the Metalco Company in the shape of a stone and the Venere planters in aggregate of natural marble stones from the Bellitalia company.
On Piazza Hungary, the arrangement of the furniture along the edges helps to underline the perspective axis towards Piazza del Belvedere and towards the sea, above all thanks to the luminous elements with which the seats themselves are equipped. Furthermore, to emphasize the effect of the backdrop, all the benches have been equipped, along the positioning axes, with a paved band of the same material and color, almost as if the square were to rise and through small inserts, allow the seats. The light colored bands intensify the glow effect of the LED light system. On the square in front of Piazza Hungary, the layout along the edge served to circumscribe and make more intimate a space that was already partially used as a place to stay, thanks to the presence of commercial activities, which over time had used it in that sense.The only signs of vertical definition of this sort of new scenographic set-up are rounded prisms with a pseudo-ovoid shape, arranged between the seats: these are the new Pod litter bins in Performance Concrete, equipped with a flat stainless steel lid with lock snap and galvanized bag holder from the Metalco Company. Another design choice, always aimed at promoting social interaction and the regeneration of spaces, was to insert types of seats, which did not have a specific direction, for example defined by a supporting backrest, as in the case of illuminated benches, or that could allow various uses to sit, rest, play, jump, as in the case of the large stones arranged in the churchyard. As far as the chromatic choice is concerned, since the project was intended for a seaside resort, it was considered appropriate to use the color white: all the furnishings are used mainly during the summer season, and it was necessary to prevent them from overheating due to excessively turned on. The same criterion was adopted in the choice of materials: reconstituted cement, or UHPC (ultra high performance concrete) keep the surfaces of the objects always very fresh and usable, enticing the casual passer-by to use the furniture.
