SQUAREA DESIGN

Eckhard Plaza in Singen:

Jingtai Liu won second place in a June 1994 competition. The design was published in “Garden and Landscape” magazine in Germany the following year. This project is a good example of converting a declining plaza into a new public square.

Ekkehard plaza is located in the Singen city center. There is a church, a school, children’s playground, parking lot, a few planted areas, a shutdown public bathroom and memorial statues from the Franco Prussian War. The public square, which had once represented the city’s character, had deteriorated over the years, now largely acting as a resting place for homeless and drunk people. Giving a new definition to the function of the plaza is the strategy behind this project.

The goal is to separate the school use and public areas into two levels, with the addition of a 3 step flight of stairs, underground bands of light and uniform design paving (with slight colour gradations) to unite the two areas. The new children’s playground will be created by incorporating architectural elements such as trees, walls, fountains and green spaces; a new memorial garden will be built next to the church. The public square will open to the main street with a nice cafe situated at the former closed restroom area. Finally, we will use trees and colored rectangle benches to create a comfortable resting spot in the public area, combined with a cafe and a public washroom.

The project was awarded 2nd prize in an open competition in Singen Germany. Local residents were invited to the competition to cast their vote.