Project:
Stitching Together

About

• Project Description

  Addressing Åkrehamn’s unclear urban structure and lacking a discernible centre we proposed a cluster of independent projects stitched together through a densified urban tissue and a network of stoa and green galleries. Connecting the sea, city centre and its natural surroundings through high-quality outdoor areas, the new urban structures promote walking and biking by enlivening and strengthening the connections between the harbour and the main road. Public space thus becomes the stage for complex transformation processes as well as a vital and functioning urban heart. Transforming spaces designed around the needs of mobility vehicles, harbour, main road, into a biodiverse landscape for humans and non-humans, a mediator between new interdependencies is formed, a Living City component.

• Jury Remarks

  Stitching together provides Åkrehamn with a wealth of suggestions. Some of the ideas are provocative and exaggerated, obscuring the foundations of the proposal and making it difficult to communicate to stakeholders. Nevertheless, the proposal is built on well-thought-out and presented master-plan basics. It emanates excitement and optimism about the town, which might serve Åkrehamn well in the upcoming planning work.

  The most prominent ideas are arcades and stoae that Stitching together proposes to unify the town centre, bestow it with identity, and provide shelter from the elements. The amount of arcades is overblown, and their implementation would be problematic in several ways. However, in places, stoaes could work as intended, giving integrity and intimacy to shapeless, oversized squares or undefined streets.

• Team

  Team Members:
  Ana-Maria Branea (RO), architect urbanist
  Marius Stelian Gaman (RO), architect urbanist
  Anamaria Bujanca (RO), architect
  Romina Popescu (RO), architect
  Alexandru Mihailescu (RO), architect

  Ana and Marius have been working together, as :Studio, and as part of the Research center for sustainable development Timisoara, while teaching at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Politehnica University of Timișoara. Anamaria, Romina and Alexandru joined them after their graduation. All five share similar approaches and values regarding urban planning, while also bringing to the table individual skill sets from different domains (e.g. architecture, urban design, management).