SHADOW
PLEASE !
JAKOMINIPLATZ — Graz (A)
Jakominiplatz could be described as the Sahel zone of Graz. If you cross the square on hot summer days, the air stands there, everything shimmers with heat.
We – as an architectural office based in Jakoministrasse – cross the square several times a day. The whole team is therefore concerned to make a proposal to alleviate this un-state. As planners, we are aware that this square, as an infrastructural hub of the city, is extremely complex and therefore not easy to convert. Therefore our proposal should be as simple and easy to realize as possible and become a strong aesthetic and functional sign.
In the future, colorful sails could span Jakominiplatz to provide the square with shade, noticeably lowering temperatures and significantly reducing inner-city overheating. These „cushions“ also serve as rain protection. The sails glow colorfully at night, enveloping the entire square in colorful, friendly light.
The existing lighting and catenary poles will be freed from the luminaries and provided with a new substructure as support. In the ground area, the masts are now provided with a statically effective sheathing, which also serves as a seating and/or plant trough. This generates additional moisture and lowers the temperature. We hope to initiate a debate with our proposal. A debate about a central inner-city location that is in urgent need of adaptation and a clear qualitative upgrade.
