Agorà arquatese - project financing for a new square

In Arquata Scrivia, architects Alessandro Ricci and Francesco Campidonico have designed the project titled “Agorà arquatese”: a plaza with attached multipurpose building to redevelop a decommissioned urban space, created through project financing, in a public-private partnership.



Arquata Scrivia can boast about a new urban reality - Piazza della Libertà - by architects Alessandro Ricci and Francesco Campodonico: the “Agorà arquatese” due to the cosy portico that frames two sides of the new plaza.





This recovery of a decommissioned area next to via Roma, the main city road that also links the new part of Arquata with its well-preserved old town. The existing asphalted area was used for parking heavy vehicles, and being lower than the street level it was possible to create a number of parking zones under the new pedestrian square, which has been furnished with plenty of seating, green areas and even a stage for performances and events. 





The multipurpose, two-level building houses retail spaces, offices and a conference room. The undulating shape of the overhanging roofs supported by locally-sourced wooden beams pays tribute to the hillside landscape and by creating a number of different openings, it improves the natural ventilation of the first floor balcony. The geometric design of the portico beams offers a protected but open space - like the Greek stoas - and gives the building perspective a feeling of movement. 
The project itself was funded under “project financing”: a formal partnership agreement between public sector (municipality of Arquata) and private enterprise (Arquata Costruzioni). This option is extremely effective if it's done the way they have in Arquata Scrivia where everything - including some of the architectural choices - took place in close collaboration between promotor, municipality and architects on the basis of mutual trust and ongoing engagement. 
 




So, in some ways it resembles participative architecture and it even involved children: the local middle school students designed their Arquata, images that ceramicist Daniel Trogu then turned into a colourful mosaic of tiles on the street facade.



Piazza della Libertà is a new urban space with close ties to the territory, a virtuous example of how even in tough times, it is possible to create and finance environmentally sustainable and economically feasible projects for the community.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: Alessandro Ricci e Francesco Campidonico 
Project Financing: Arquata Costruzioni srl con il Comune di Arquata
Location: Arquata Scrivia (AL), Italy
Year: 2015
Photography: © Gianluca Giordano