Arroyo . Cavallo . Giardino . Marchisio . Zuberbuhler

Central Square . Plovdiv

design team: Julio Arroyo . Cavallo Nicolas . Giardino Franco . Marchisio Francisco . Zuberbuhler Enzo . Plovdiv Central Square

Why a prism? It is one of the basic regular forms of human intelligence. In a city which is almost a palimpsest, the several levels of its history must be always present. But the basic shape of the prism is just the support for its meanings as a sign of time: it is an URBAN INTENSIFIER device. That is, a prism whose goal is to accelerate, improve, enhance the conscious of living in such a city.

It is a glass volume, with AUREA PROPORTIONS that works promoting tensions:
Longitudinal (back and forward)
Transversals (left and right)
Verticals (up and down).
Each one of these directions represents an specific relationship in time and space: back and forward, the dynamic of the everyday city; up and down, a movement into the deepness of history going to the archeological levels or an escape to the sky; left and right, the possibility to recognize the surroundings as our vital space.
In addition, the prism will explore and take advantage of the material possibilities that glass (and ancient materials) has nowadays: transparency, to translucent, to opague (electrochromic glass, smart glass), digital screening (graphene), photovoltaic electrical generator, etc.
The basic prismatic shape will have a symbolic meaning given by the tension in the 3 directions of existential space and also a practical use as corridors, public screen for any kind of audiovisual messages, observatories, exhibitions areas, staying rooms, connective pass ways. They are placed strategically provoking a scale impact which at the same time will be mitigated by the lightness of the glass. A shape which disappears like a virtual presence that subtly points out the urban rhythm meanwhile the city goes on, as alive as always.

design team: Julio Arroyo . Cavallo Nicolas . Giardino Franco . Marchisio Francisco . Zuberbuhler Enzo