Santa Maria Novella Square, Firenze

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Santa Maria Novella Square, Firenze

Firm

Type

Landscape + Planning › Public Park
Transport + Infrastructure › Train/Subway

YEAR

2010

The present square is more an obstacle to the passengers who cross it
from the rail-station to the city center and vice versa. The main axis
is closed, so new ways crossing the existing square have been made by
the people to cross faster the big open space. Subways are uninviting
so many people walk true the streets and across the roundabout creating
dangerous situations between people and cars. For this reasons in the
project the roundabout is eliminated and the street crosses are less
possible to isolate pedestrian ways from the driveway. The same reason
moves the bus stops at the back near Pizza Adua and the taxi stop moves
on the side of the railway station creating a huge pedestrian space not
crossed by any driveway.Plan scanning is given by a quadratic division of various dimensions
which create diversified zones, grass zone for long stops and relax,
sitting and short brake zone with bamboo, transit zone and parking exit.
This division in plant remains at the same height, the one of the
entrance to the station, dividing the functions of the square also in
raise and making perceive to the passengers the “volume” and the
difference of height which is 2m and absolutely unnoticeable now.
Arriving from the city center passengers can notice nearly 2m high
volumes and the first row of them are interactive giving information
about imminent train departures, who is late can start running earlier.
Orientation is given by slope and the main direction towards the city
center giving opportunity to arrive inside the station in the faster way
from every corner.The entrance to the subway from Via Alamanni, currently an urban dark
blight, becomes more open and inviting with 2 big ramps practicable by
bike and by disabled people. One towards the main entrance to the
station, the other going inside the ground.The big hole in the middle of the square, aeration for the underground
parking with a fountain 20m underground, was always a place of urban
blight and camping because of its intimacy. The project uses this area
for the exit of the underground parking that actually doesn’t have a
real exit outside but just to the subway. The spectacular structure
which falls to the water isn’t high more than 1,5m over the entrance to
the station level, so it doesn’t interrupt the facade of the Micheluccis
architecture.Many people who come to work in Florence by train use bicycle to move in
the city and they leave them at the rail-station creating a
bicycle-parking problem. A big open space is leaven by the old
taxi-parking which is used to plant bike-parking-trees. Order is given
back, more than 400 bikes can take place and when not used bicycles are
protected from rain and snow. Bike-parking-trees use the same design
that is used inside the railway-station for furniture.

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Team

Uros Novakovic

Architect

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Santa Maria Novella Square, Firenze

Santa Maria Novella Square, Firenze

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team