lithuanian square in lublin

competition – honorific mention

lublin, poland / 2010

lithuanian square in lublin

competition – honorific mention

lublin, poland / 2010

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The intercultural city of Lublin and its past play a lynchpin role in the history of the union between nations. Given its scale and centrality, Lithuanian Square is one of the most important public spaces in the city and is in fact the place where the union between Poland and Lithuania in 1569 is commemorated. The symbolism of the location extends beyond the actual square itself and speaks to a wider European context. This fact, coupled with the city’s candidature for the title of European Capital of Culture in 2016, is taken as the starting point for the project, advocating the transformation of the square into a place that allegorically celebrates the union of European peoples, formalised as a grand space comprising different sub-spaces which create specific stages, both in terms of the monuments in the square as well as the activities and public events that take place there. They are materialised as voids within a large mass of trees. On the other hand, this also resolves Lithuanian Square’s typological (and characteristic) dilemma, caught as it is between being a square or being a park, by means of a hybrid solution. The circular forms of the voids mirror concepts associated with the relationship between persons as well as ideas of gathering, meeting and embracing.

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client : city council of lublin
head architects : marta orts – carlos trullenque
assistant architects : carlos nieto, magdalena domoslawska

The intercultural city of Lublin and its past play a lynchpin role in the history of the union between nations. Given its scale and centrality, Lithuanian Square is one of the most important public spaces in the city and is in fact the place where the union between Poland and Lithuania in 1569 is commemorated. The symbolism of the location extends beyond the actual square itself and speaks to a wider European context. This fact, coupled with the city’s candidature for the title of European Capital of Culture in 2016, is taken as the starting point for the project, advocating the transformation of the square into a place that allegorically celebrates the union of European peoples, formalised as a grand space comprising different sub-spaces which create specific stages, both in terms of the monuments in the square as well as the activities and public events that take place there. They are materialised as voids within a large mass of trees. On the other hand, this also resolves Lithuanian Square’s typological (and characteristic) dilemma, caught as it is between being a square or being a park, by means of a hybrid solution. The circular forms of the voids mirror concepts associated with the relationship between persons as well as ideas of gathering, meeting and embracing.

client : city council of lublin
head architects : marta orts – carlos trullenque
assistant architects : carlos nieto, magdalena domoslawska