Archaeology of public space renewals

Public spaces form integral parts of our built environment, bearing many visible and invisible traces of their and their surroundings' development. How users’ expectations for contemporary public space be met while layers of time and space in the built environment can also become part of the public space? I examine and compare three public space renewals of similar scale and philosophy, built after World War II, but in different eras and locations: the redevelopment of the area around Kogălniceanu Street in Cluj-Napoca, planned by Mossfern Architectură (2024); the rehabilitation of Piazza Alicia and the Cathedral and the surrounding streets (1991-98) by Alvaro Siza and Roberto Collovà in the centre of Salemi, Sicily; and the work of Dimitris Pikionis, the pathways around Acropolis in Athens (1954-58). My research question is whether, despite the undoubted differences in time, place and approach of the designers, similar patterns in design choices and tools can be recognized.