PWFERRETTO in collaboration with ESOU Architects Second Prize Winner
“The boundary is not that which stops, but the boundary is that from which something begins its presence.”
URBAN PARK Our concept is to materialize the boundary into an active monument that reconnects the forgotten history of the park into a memorial for the catholic martyrs who lost the life fighting for their beliefs.
In/Ex The site’s history has evolved with a constant struggle between belonging and being excluded from the city. This paradoxical INCLUSIVE/EXCLUSIVE situation is the starting point of our conceptual approach to the project.
Urban Island The park is today isolated from its immediate urban fabric on all four sides of its perimeter: rail tracks, elevated highway, massive complex and finally a main street.
Public Space By materializing the boundary into a physical threshold we both commemorate the history of the site and at the same time create an isolated enclave, a place for all to find their inner peace; a place where absence creates a new form of contemporary public space, detached from commercial and superficial events and connected to both nature and history.
MEMORIAL The boundary becomes a permeable wall for citizens to both engage and contemplate. As well as accommodating the main circulation arteries and functional services the wall also houses two forms of memorials that generate the park’s identity:
44 Martyrs The first memorial is connected specifically to the 44 martyrs who died in Sosumun Park between 1801-1866. Each martyr is represented by a 6m high column supporting a canopy above, which are layout across the whole length of the wall as to create a spiritual journey of remembrance.The stone rectangular columns have a bronze abstract cast piece embedded into the structure commemorating the specific martyr.
14 Stations of the Cross The second monumental element is a series of 14 chapels that represent in the form of a spatial manifestation Jesus’ 14 Stations of the Cross.Like the columns they are scattered around the whole perimeter of the site.
