Ramnicu Valcea is one unique city in the urban context of socialist Ro-mania with its sharp concrete blocks blended with a strong architectural ver-nacular legacy. As the capital city of Valcea County, Ramnicu Valcea needs to become an attractive urban centre at the border of two of our best preserved communities from Oltenia and Transylvania. To do so, the city has to transform the system of public spaces solving problems of accessibility, functional struc-ture, urban skyline and social interaction.

The missing alternative route and parking problems create traffic conges-tion in the city centre. Ramnicu Valcea needs to invest in its infrastructure that will finally return profit on a long term. The status of capital county needs to re-flect a good organization of public functions that satisfy local needs through a representative space such as agora, forum or public garden. The accelerated urban development from the socialist era left behind a city looking for its own identity with a fractured urban skyline. Because of the lack of a coherent vision the city centre has been strongly influenced by real-estate pressures ignoring the need for a representative public space destined for public marches and local festivities. Ramnicu Valcea needs a central area with an identity based on the community’s inherent values for both young people as well as the elderly.

The project focuses on the system of public spaces that follows the major directions of pedestrian flow. Thus it ensures a succession of thematic public squares that meet various functions specific for a capital county central like: representativity, agora, urban garden and commercial forum. Morphologically, the pedestrian axis can be compared to a traditional oltenian carpet used in general for covering transit areas around the house.

Short introduction

client: Municipality of Ramnicu Valcea citydate: June 2012 program: masterplan & urban designoutcome: SECOND PRIZEsize: L / 15 halocation: Ramnicu Valcea, Romaniateam: Wolfhouse Productionslink: http://oar.squarespace.com/castigatori-valcea/

RAMNICU VALCEA’S CENTRAL SQUARE. A focus on place making through a system of integrated public spaces.

2nd PRIZE

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Vision

It’s the late spring of 2025, Easter Holydays are coming and the city is getting ready to unvail the new Civic Center, the final project in an urban renewal program that began 12 years before.

Locals are proud of their city’s newly found identity. Since most public ac-tivities are happening along the main pedestrian roadway, central Valcea is al-ready viewed as defined by its pedestrian system. Car traffic issues, so accute at the begining of the urban renewal program, have been completely resolved. The pedestrian axis is central Valcea’s preffered circulation. The only car traffic in the center is now separated from pedestrians and restricted to tenants or maintenance. The imminent opening of a third dedicated car-park structure beneath the Civic Square is expected to completely solve the parking situation.

In order to celebrate the successful completion of the major urban renew-al project in Valcea’s central area, the City Hall has invited Florentijn Hofman, an internationally renown artist, to create a representative piece of art in the Civic Center. In the mean time, one of the artist‘s Giant Yellow Bunnies will be instaled here to celebrate Easter.

image courtesy of Wolfhouse Productions

Ramnicu Valcea’s Central Square, Romania

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Urban context

Ramnicu Valcea is the regional center of Valcea county and the second economic & cultural centre of the South-West Development Region (Oltenia). With a population of 110 000, Ramnicu Valcea is one of the typical medi-um-sized Romanian cities South of the Carpathians. During the communist era, Ramnicu Valcea was the most important petro-chemical centre in Ro-mania and suffered massive urban transformations on the outskirts and, most important, on its central area. Recently the city is shifting towards a healthier urban lifestyle, cleaner streets and better designed public space.

The city needs to create an identity relevant for its status as regional center of Oltenia region. Pedestrian connections need to be improved and clearly separated by car traffic. Also, building of new parking is a priority because Valcea has to become free of traffic jams.

In the 1990s’ and 2000s’ city development is characterized by chaotic real estate speculation, a car oriented urban structure and steady decrease in young population. At the moment central Ramnicu Valcea lacks a coherent functional character specific of a regional centre.

There is an urgent need to strengthen representativity through high quality public spaces part of a larger system that will eventually encourage a sense of belonging for the locals. The city has to create and promote an attractive urban brand oriented both towards its citizens but also towards in-vestors and tourists.

3. County Council, Allutus Hotel and 1st postal office (local landmarks)

5. city’s bussiest pedestrian crossing Calea lui Traian + Regina Maria

1. Revolution Square& Tudor Vladimirescu street

4. Mircea cel Batran Square. Picture taken in the late 1960s

2. poor quality urban development (unplanned, illegal) cca. 1990s

Ramnicu Valcea’s Central Square, Romania

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Traffic solution

A. Current situation: traffic jams caused by priority for pedestrians crossing the intersection with two-timing traffic lights. B. proposed situation: first timing exclusively for car traffic allows for more traffic to pass on calea lui traian in less time. C. second timing: exclusively for car traffic allows for traffic to pass on regina maria street. D. third timing: exclusively for pedestrians minimizes time spent for crossing the street. Pedestrians may cross in all directions.

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5. Civic Center + parking for 250 cars and supermarket

General description of the masterplan

The competition for developing central Valcea’s urban layout is a great opportunity for the city to truly create a safe and attractive system of public spaces in which car traffic is separated from pedestrians and leisure activities are mixed with civic functions.

A main car-free axis is connecting the entire central area of the city on a North-South direction. This is the backbone ot the masterplan,bringing people to the city’s main landmarks: Olanesti river (1), the commerce (3) and mall cluster (2), Mircea cel Batran square and park (4), followed by a new Civic Centre (5), with a dense functional mix. The axis is continued to the north with a new culture cluster complemented by already established education functions.

The masterplan exploits site topography hiding public equipment such as parking and large commercial spaces under a green levelled public space. Following existing traffic studies in the area, car traffic is regularized by oneway streets and timed traffic lights. Calea lui Traian and Regina Maria intersection, the bussiest in the city, will be fitted with an “X-Crossing” allowing pedestrians to freely transit from Mircea cel Batran Square to the mall and Olanesti River, in the South (6).

The masterplan respects the scale of the city creating a sequence of high quality public spaces with strong local identity, meant to attract and interact with citizens. The safe, car free environment of newly created public spaces represents a bold new approach for Valcea’s city-scape

3. city market + parking for 50 cars4. Mircea cel Batran Square + parking for 150 parks, bus station and commerce

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Central area masterplan

first phase: 2012 - 2016 second phase: 2017 - 2021 third phase: 2022 - 2025

City center masterplan & phasingCity Center today:

2. city mall10. public square11. Revolution Square

City Center in 2016:4. Mircea cel Batran square & park

City Center in 2021:3. city market7. City Museum (former Townhall)

City Center in 2025:5. Civic Center6. New Townhall8. sports square9. youth cultural centre

Ramnicu Valcea’s Central Square, Romania

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image courtesy of Wolfhouse Productions

General view of the Mircea cel Batran Square

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City branding & place making

The system of public spaces in the city center will foster an aus-picious context for defining the identity and the sense of belonging to Ramnicu Valcea. At the same time, people visiting the city will have direct contact with a unique urban space, defined by the archetypal values of this region characterized by a rich ethnographic legacy but perfectly adapted to the modern 21st century living.

Being more than just a nice geometric drawing of local inspiration, the public space morphology enables the presence of specific points for touristic orientation that will offer information about the city and the region. Also, promotional articles for the city, the design of cycle routes or digital apps for tourists will add up to the way Valcea comunicates its identity to its citizens.

Through an inclusive urban renewal program corellated with clever city branding strategies, Ramnicu Valcea has the opportunity to show off its true colors not only to its dwellers, but also to visitors. Local ad-ministration can use this urban renewal program to define the city as a complex urban center oriented to the future [reference on the pixel] but deeply rooted in local traditions [reference on local crafts].

Concept

The diagonal and the level contours are two elements hard to rec-oncile in an harmonious urban composition. Also, the general concept assumes a compositional continuity of the space and the surface pattern. This is the reason why the “urban carpet” metaphor hints the gesture for the intervention.

The solution for spatial and functional layout of the square, inspired by the local traditional crafts of weaving rugs from Oltenia region, recon-cile the two main elements existing on site - the diagonal and the level contours, through transposing organic forms in an orthognal geometric system.

The model of the weaving craft that solves organic formes in bidi-mensional system, is extrapolated and offers the design solution for a threedimensional organic surface of the square. This method is found in the composition of spaces, surface patterns, form and furniture positioning.

Redrawing the level contours of the square is done by using an or-thogonal network with 3m X 3m squares. The level difference between the new terraces is 50 cm giving the possibility to use the space as an amphitheatre and an urban public space. The solution’s functional benefits are represented by the flexibility of the modular system created and its elements may be moved in time to respond efficiently to the city’s needs.

Visually, the result of the transformation process creates a paralel be-tween tradition - representation of popular models, and information tech-nology - image representation in a pixel system, encouraging equally both perception methds.

Weaving rug traditionaly crafted in Oltenia

1. Textile pattern process is used traditionally in Valcea for reinterpreting or-ganic shapes into simple geometric forms.

2. 3d rasterizing of irregular terrain is used in automation processes to generate volumetric interpretations of irregular surfaces.

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Masterplan of Mircea cel Batran square

site sections

1. Amphitheatre2. Leisure area3. By the statue4. On the terrace5. Playground area

Urban furniture modules

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image courtesy of Wolfhouse Productions

3. Pedestrian crossing

4. Amphitheatre

1. By the statue

2. Regina Maria street

A sustainable city is as safe and comfort-able by night as it is by day. LED technology with a temperature variation of 2000k - 5000k ensures the required luminosity for active and passive activities by night. The public lighting system supports the functinal zoning of spaces connected through a sequence of continuous experiences sustaining the perception of the square’s identity and urban structure. The con-cept ensures the square’s perception on three levels of experiences. At the macro scale the square’s identity is sustained by increasing the landmarks also visible by day. For maximum visibility the square’s accesses are treated with bright blue-white light. The light temeperature along the pedestrian axis reproduces natural colors for orientation facilities especially for blind impaired people. The most intimate zones are equipped with warmer colors so that by the terraces the lighting systems use motion sensors and lights gradually.

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