Plaza Républica, a project by Somatic Collaborative, proposes to transform a derelict urban surface into a new cultural landscape that provides the city with a new high quality fine grain open space, complimentary to the adjacent Alameda Park; a new urban piece that can act as a catalyzer for future urban transformations in the Alameda district. More images and brief project description after the break.
The project transforms the old plaza into three new interconnected spaces, an open lawn that faces the existing park, a new courtyard and gallery space that redefine the entry to the existing underground theater and an elevated platform that hold a small botanical garden made up of endemic Andean species. These three elements act as anchors for a multiplicity of social and cultural activities to unfold within the spaces of the project.
Architect: Somatic Collaborative Location: Quito, Ecuador Design Team: Felipe Correa, Anthony Acciavatti, Andrew S. McGee, Andres Izurieta Rueda, Mariusz Klemens Consultants: Envirornmental and Botanical Consultants: Meffert + Etheridge Environmental Projects (New Orleans) Year: 2011