OFF GRID - PLOVDIV CENTRAL SQUARE

Central square in Plovdiv marks a plethora of historical layers in non harmonious relation. One over another the layers are reclaiming their dominance over the square. Proposed design is using the language of one to expose the other and vice versa. The grid of the Forum of the ancient Philopoppolis is exposed on the surface in a repetitive regular form that is referring to the building legacy of the contemporary layer. Out of the regular grid arises a set of columns in two orthogonal axes, Cardo and Decumanus, thus marking every of the excavated sites. Their regularity in irregularity becomes a visual connection both present and absent in the image of the city. Columns appear as the sequence during the walk and culminate as a composition from one of the Plovdiv’s high points.

The ancient Forum is merged with the square trough the transition from a hard paved to a soft green surface. Opening the passages to the intense pedestrian flow trough the roofed underpases enhances the liveliness of the Forum. The central space of the Square regains its metropolitan character staying still and open for the many spectacles of forthcoming histories.