24/08/2023
As part of the European Capital of Culture, Europe Square, one of the main venues in 2025, will be given a refreshed look. Last week, a public tender was published by EGTC GO for the construction works, which will be carried out in the municipality of Gorizia and in the municipality of Nova Gorica and are expected to be completed by December 31, 2024. "We are aware of the tight timeframe and that is why we launched the first phase of the public tender for the construction works in parallel with the completion of the project documentation, so we are ready to launch the second phase, the tender procedure, later this year," said the director of EGTC GO, Romina Kocina. "We are very pleased that the construction works are initiated in parallel with the completion of the project documentation, and that we will be ready to launch the second phase, the tender procedure, later in the year," explained Romina Kocina. The final design phase is currently underway, and some of the key elements of the new look have already been outlined. These include the paving, the greening of the square with more than 20 new trees and the inclusion of a water feature - these will be respectful of the existing Franco Vecchiet mosaic in the centre of the square. Three streets, Caprin, Luzzato and Foscolo, which converge on the Italian side in front of Europe Square, were also included in the redesign. During the tendering process in spring, an Italian-Slovenian working group was selected to be the project team responsible for the redesign. It is composed of Ravnikar Potokar Architectural Bureau from Ljubljana, Edil Engineering and PINSS from Nova Gorica, Erdado and Lozej from Ajdovščina, Detajl Infrastruktura from Vipava, the Venetian associations D: RH Architetti Associati and SA architetti assiciati, and Sertec Engineering from Turin. "The basic concept of the design is to bring together two important features in the space that intersect in the square. The urban trajectory of the two cities runs in an inward-westerly direction, and the green belt trajectory runs in a north-south direction. The two trajectories offer different qualities of space, and the square becomes a multifunctional public space combining the urban and the green," commented Ravnikar Potokar Architectural Bureau from Ljubljana. "The renovation foresees a new unified paving of the whole area (both on the Slovenian and Italian side), while maintaining the existing mosaic as the central point of the square, which is axially aligned with the main façade of the station building. The design proposal for the paving is based on the visual link between the paving and the green areas, which in their duality essentially define the appearance of the square, while the unified surface links the two places and seemingly blurs the boundaries between them. The entire square is also raised slightly above the existing ground level to align the paving with the existing central mosaic, thus creating a unified surface without height barriers in space. The desire of both cities to renovate Europe Square represents a new and fresh step towards urban development and blurring of the boundaries between the two cities, and the renovation of the square area will allow it to become their functional and not only symbolic meeting point. The new layout will allow for a number of events to be held as part of the European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica - Gorizia project and, above all, it will be able to attract a new city programme to the square at a later date. The renovation of the railway station, new restaurants and other public programmes will make the square both a vibrant centre and an interesting tourist destination." You can read the full statement in the attachment.
