Plaça Vila de Madrid

The design sets out to revitalize the square as an urban pedestrian space, celebrating its archaeological site. The project proposed a central stretch of grass on the same level as C.Canuda and the eastern side of the square. The grassy surface slopes gently down to the level of the Roman necropolis. Before the Palau Sabassona building, a strip of pavement with a portico provides a platform from which to view the tombs. A walkway projects over the archaeological remains, joining up with the prolongation of C.Duc de la Victòria, which connects with the Rambla via a shopping arcade. This walkway houses a flexible system of retracting sliding doors, constructed to control access to the archaeological site. The outer edge of the square is developed using the construction materials and street furniture habitually found in Barcelona's old town. Grass, basaltic stone and Corten steel are introduced into the centre, however, the latter being used in walls to protect the existing trees.