Piedichiusa Park  Lamezia Terme, Italy

The area related to the project of the new Parco della Piedichiusa is developed within the historic center of Nicastro, covering an area of about 30,000 square meters and takes an elongated shape that follows the riverbed of Torrente Coschino. The first operation necessary to achieve the objectives envisaged is the redefinition of the margins of the new urban park, which is essential for recognisability as a fundamental objective of the interventions. Recover significant emergencies, improve integration with the urban, landscape and social context of the new park, trigger processes of participation and re-appropriation of the site by citizens, these are the overall objectives of the intervention through a flexible system adaptable to different situations and responding to different functions. Physical access to the area is mainly allowed by two large areas particularly significant: the primary school Don Milani and the mill of Piedichiusa, For the rest, perceptual access is expected to be significantly improved compared to current ones, both by intervening on the margins and equipping longitudinal and transverse paths to the stream. The functional recovery of the mill and the elements connected to it takes place first with the elimination of the existing surfaces in order to free the original structure: in this way the arched structure that carried the water and the room of the mill itself is brought to light. The area is also enhanced through the creation of two flights of steps that lead from the altitude of the upper road to the lower level of the mill thus allowing easy access from above and below. In this structure it is planned to set up a small museum of the territory with particular attention to the system of mills and the rural world that generated them. A naturalistic path that runs parallel to the stream, facilitates the close perception of the riverbed; the walkway that crosses the stream is thought more than a mere crossing as a place to stay, to listen to the flow of water to live the experience immersed in the nature of the stream. The light and transparent steel structure of the walkway does not constitute a visual barrier to the perception of the entire gorge and at the same time offers a privileged point of view over the stream.

 Credits: Design Architects: Tstudio – G. Salimei, G. Fiamingo |Urban planning: R. Pavia, M. Ferrari; Efficienza Energetica: Transsolar |Ingegneria: VIA Ingegneria idraulica; Thethis sostenibilità: Malearc