109 – ZG1111 – PUNCT BIROU DE ARHITECTURĂ SRL

Autor principal / Main Author: Andrei Bacoșcă, Mădălina Doroftei, Ruxandra Grigoraș, Lázár Csaba, Mădălina Perju, Daniel Șerban

„Proiectul propune crearea unui parc central în inima orașului. Punctul său forte constă în continuitatea designului, care se întinde de la digul râului până la Piața Mircea cel Bătrân. Piața în sine este calibrată într-un spațiu deschis, la scară umană, empiric și incluziv. Designul demonstrează o poziție și un limbaj de design clare, respectând structura urbană existentă, introducând în același timp un vocabular arhitectural și peisagistic consolidat. Această abordare are potențialul de a stabili atât pentru locuitori, cât și pentru vizitatori, o nouă identitate puternică pentru Zona Centrală Tulcea, în completarea celei existente.

O caracteristică notabilă a conceptului este flexibilitatea sa ridicată în ceea ce privește amplasarea copacilor și a zonelor verziAceastă lucrare oferă un răspuns exemplar la provocările presante ale crizei climatice din orașele noastre. Prin prioritizarea rezilienței de mediu, a incluziunii sociale și a sensibilității istorice, designul oferă o viziune convingătoare și implementabilă.

Proiectul creează un nou centru urban, deschis către comunitatea locuitorilor orașului și ai Dobrogei – o comunitate multietnică, multiconfesională, cu activități și aspirații specifice – și deschis către vizitatorii și turiștii români și străini, din ce în ce mai numeroși. Grație acestei inițiative publice și prin concursul internațional organizat, soluția câștigătoare va redesena noul centru, care va deveni un simbol al modernității și al inovării pentru toată România.” – aprecierea Juriului

Anamnesis / brief site analysis

The current configuration of Tulcea’s Civic Square presents an open space, not devoid of structure and legible composition, but neither entirely coherent from a spatial and functional perspective. Its configuration, shaped by the erasing urban interventions typical of the socialist period, has created a space that is visibly present and hierarchically clear within the city’s spatial structure, yet functionally disjointed, with limited public appropriation and only partial continuity in relation to the street network and movement flows. The typical organization of civic squares from the socialist era, dominated both compositionally and functionally by administrative institutions that offer little in terms of public engagement, also affects the vitality of this square. In this case, the imbalance is heightened by the disproportionate territoriality of the County Council building and the poorly articulated, back-facing orientation of the Prefecture.

The framework of the proposed solution

The design proposal aims to remove the bland, institutional character of the square and to mediate the relationship between the open space and the various administrative buildings plus the relatively opaque shopping center that surround it. The objective is to reconfigure the square into an attractive, human-scale public realm, incorporating autonomous interest points, comfortable micro-ambiences, enhanced active frontages and a diversified program. The intervention articulates the concept of a “park-square”, prioritizing demineralization and permeability – both in terms of ground surface and rain water management and in how the space is experienced and navigated. This spatial model is conceived as a character-defining and identity-enhancing framework, providing a memorable user experience defined by softness, environmental comfort, abundant vegetation and acting symbolically as a tribute to the Danube Delta.

The proposal prioritizes pedestrian circulation and cross-accessibility, offering shaded, short routes and multiple options for traversal and informal occupation, encouraging continuous promenade-like movement patterns akin to a park environment. These circulation trails are articulated with embedded attractors (gardens, rest areas, pavilions, fountains, terraces) and distinct subzones with specific spatial character. Integrating the square with Unirii Street and the Three Fountains Plaza, a spatial terminus that also functions as a critical link to the riverside promenade, results in a cohesive system of public spaces with significant spatial continuity and usable scale, suitable for daily leisure and social interaction.

Civic Square – the redefined core of the extended urban ensemble

The unification of the different sections of the realm through the vegetation arrangement softens the dividing lines created by traffic networks, producing a more permeable space that invites exploration. Across the space, certain focal points provide structure and enhance both existing and new configurations that improve the ensemble’s quality. For example, the curvature of the Belvedere apartment building, which defines the square’s most welcoming area, is emphasized by reorganizing vegetation, expanding of the adjacent landscaped surface and its articulation to the building through raised platforms with terraces, seating zones, and accessible ramps. At the Babadag Street crossing, a tree-lined axis, dissimulated among the dense proposed vegetation, opens a direct visual corridor from the end of Unirii Street toward the equestrian statue, making it a focal point. This axis not only offers a direct pedestrian link to the square’s center but also functions as a ceremonial axis within the civic square.

The main space of the ensemble is the circular arena centered around the equestrian statue – a formal yet friendly area. Here, the statue is embedded in an appropriately scaled setting, while the urban layout allows users to engage with it meaningfully. The arena offers the spatial amplitude required for large-scale civic events and official ceremonies, while retaining its legibility and human-scale character. The statue’s off-centered positioning is preserved, yet the composition is visually balanced by the inclusion of two fountains, one static, the other dynamic, creating an amplified and diverse spatial experience. The arena is designed to accommodate temporary installations and functions related to central civic life: performance stages, the city’s Christmas tree, National Day festivities and seasonal festivals.

Unirii Street

The Unirii Street segment is redefined as a green promenade, articulated with rain gardens and lateral rest areas, detached from primary circulation flows and equipped with street furniture and terraces. The central shared-space lane, accessible to vehicles, introduces dynamic movement and enhances the architectural perspective along the colonnaded frontage on the eastern side. It also marks the urban rupture where the current street configuration connects with the remaining historical urban fabric behind the street’s building line. This inflection point is emphasized by a newly proposed fountain, which acts as a perceptual anchor and restores the spatial rhythm of the former intersection removed during the socialist urban restructuring.

Three Fountains plaza

The Three Fountains plaza functions as the terminus of the proposed ensemble – a widened open space that signifies the transition to the riverfront and the belvedere point located on the flood protection dyke. Its ascending topography is emphasized through large stepped terraces, guiding movement and views toward the upper promenade and viewing pavilions at the Danube bend. From here, gently sloping ramps lead down to the river promenade in both directions, through planted buffer zones composed of textured grasses that re-naturalize the embankment and provide a distinct, legible visual experience along the overly mineralized waterfront. The fountains that gave the plaza its name are reimagined in a linked, linear water feature that accompanies the main path leading toward the levee. The adjacent existing park area is completed as a large green patch – a generous, uninterrupted lawn, centrally mown to support leisure, sculpture display, and various open-air public uses.

Phased implementation and long-term adaptability

Although the project envisions a spatial continuum, a series of cohesive, unified public spaces with recurring design strategies and details, it can be implemented in phases, generally following the boundaries of the three main morphological units. On a more detailed level, subdivision can occur at a smaller scale, considering the functional independence of different sectors and the technical modularity of the systems proposed (including the stormwater management system, which relies on local drainage and retention zones). Due to the deliberately fragmented morphology of both paved surfaces and planted areas, along with the irregular layout of vegetation, future modifications or adaptations are easier to implement without disrupting the overall coherence of the space.

Vegetation management plan

The proposed planting strategy responds to the local climate and landscape conditions, using species adapted to urban environments (paved ground, heatwaves and uneven rainfall). The systematic layout of depression zones for water retention, planted with moisture-tolerant species, is complemented by areas filled with ground-cover perennials resistant to summer droughts and shrubs from the local flora. Tree selection considers their form within the landscape, their adaptability to urban and climate conditions (drought-prone summers, high groundwater levels, paved surfaces) and their interspersed layout helps consolidate a homogeneous green image that integrates most of the existing tree layout and improves resilience against pests.

The extended vision area

The proposal for the vision area aims to enhance the spatial coherence of interventions within the city centre and is structured around three principal measures: the resizing of select intersections to increase pedestrian surface areas without altering traffic flow; the provision of on-street parking spaces; and the reorganization of alveolar-type parking areas. Additionally, the proposal emphasizes the expansion of permeable surface areas and the augmentation of urban tree stock. The latter is achieved through the strategic placement of street trees interspersed among parking bays, as well as the clustering of trees at key urban nodes to supplement existing vegetation or form new spatial configurations, exemplified by the eastern terminus of Isaccei Street.

Particular attention is directed towards the preservation of historic pavements within the secondary street network, recognized as critical elements contributing to the central area’s urban character. Based on pavement condition assessments and street cross-sectional profiles, three typologies have been delineated and proposed: (1) streets with fully preserved historic pavement, subjected to conservation and restoration in degraded sectors; (2) streets retaining paved sidewalks alongside reconstructed carriageways, typically featuring wider profiles. These can accommodate street tree planting and potential on-street parking as well as interventions including the renewal of cobblestone carriageways using reused materials; (3) the introduction of vegetated patches and/or street trees at specific locations within the historical street network in order to mitigate spatial discontinuities and conflicts within the urban fabric.