Housing and square in the center of Lugo
The project proposes a layout that, on the basis of that established in the Pazo Dona Urraca Agreement, introduces small modifications that aim to enhance the quality, continuity, accessibility and vitality of the public spaces. The pieces of architecture, existing and new, delimit, shape and provide the appropriate scale to the sequence of streets and squares of different sizes and character that are linked between the Rúa do Miño, the new square that we will call Dona Urraca, and the Roman Wall. A series of actions collaborate in the operation.
The parallel volumes of the buildings known as A and B are grouped together in a single, more compact prismatic piece that opens up the access to the new central square through two small-scale squares. The small remaining buildable area of this piece goes to the so-called building E, which gains a bay and transforms its party wall into a façade.
The new central square, sensibly horizontal and situated on a level coinciding with that of the promenade over the wall, is offered as a natural extension of the Pazo de Dona Urraca and is surrounded by three housing units that submit their scale to that of the Pazo by limiting their cornice heights.
The flat surface of the square includes the entire perimeter of the site, preserving it. Through a lateral band, light and air penetrate into the interior, a large space in which a series of light platforms on two levels will allow universally accessible visits in the future. Girding two sides of the square are gentle ramps which, in addition to providing universal accessibility to the public routes, also adjust the difference in height between the plane of the square and the adjoining streets and walkways. At the northwest end of the square, a staircase provides an alternative public route and prevents the square from becoming a cul-de-sac.
