Through renovation, the wide straight
connection with a clearly delineated
beginning and termination underwent a
transformation into a kind of sequence
of micro-ambients, of locally widened
surfaces connected by a slightly twisting
narrower path. These instances of
widening (in effect squares) feature
attractive concrete urban elements
(benches) whose careful arrangement
slows down the users and provides focus,
framing the space for the additional
programme content to take place. As the
path locally twists along the surrounding
buildings, it gives rise to larger contained
open spaces, allowing future expansion of
the content from the buildings outwards,
or the accommodation of other additional
content as required over time. In the initial
phase, all these newly-formed public
spaces are simply and cost-effectively
laid out as sand or grass surfaces, with
sand surfaces in particular representing a
successful middle ground between grass
and paved city spaces and allowing a wide
range of use with only modest investment.
With the transformation, the Promenada
is turning into a main event axis of the
city, its centre being placed into the new
amphitheatre along the river. The river
Paka is a torrential river, which means that
its watercourse swells up significantly a few
times a year, but remains relatively shallow
at all other times. As a consequence, the
riverbed is very deep and until now, the
river, which is an attractive element of
any city, flowed out of sight somewhere
down below. The wide bridge also meant
that anyone walking across it had a hard
time seeing the river at all. By narrowing
the bridge and placing it off the former
axis, the space for the construction of an
amphitheatre, which slowly slopes down
towards the river surface, is recovered. The
attractive amphitheatre by the river, with
the new bridge serving as its backdrop,
becomes the centre of the activity in the
city, and the river may once again claim
an important spot in the townspeople's
consciousness.
Landscape & Urban Design Issue 16
35