3tirsolines
Runners-up in Europan 13 Prize

Location:
Santo Tirso (Portugal)
Area:
28.000 m²
Year:
2015
Author:
Robello arquitectos
Typology:
Urban planing

Nowadays the Santo Tirso Marketplace is an almost empty building surrounded by a wide-open space full of vehicles. We propose 3 strategies to attract more people to the area and fight its lost of significance:
Replace the parking lots with vegetation that will spread gradually, following smooth slopes to save the height difference, to the city centre and to the Sanguinhedo River. This will create a long green axis where new bicycle paths and pedestrian walks (connected with the currents itineraries), urban agriculture spaces and sport facilities will increase the local offer of outdoor-activities. Cars will be distributed in 3 car parks zones, promoted by Institutions.
Renovate the marketplace, improving its accessibility and acclimatization to incorporate new uses as restoration, exhibitions and specialized shops. The building work will be made on stages to avoid the closing of the market stands and to turn it into the first meeting point for the public participation, that will take part in the design process and organize shared activities with all the agents involved.
Increase the building, merging public uses and facilities into a variety of sustainable dwellings. Studio houses, student housing and communal greenhouses will encourage the arrival of new neighbours that live and work there. In addition, the first shared ideas will consolidate in new institutions, community facilities will be needed overtime and new business will set up.
Agents-Actions-Activities
The actions will be settled in 3 main lines: green axis, marketplace and building zones. They will happen one before the other, just like the stations of a tube line go by. The arrival to a new station will open a wide range of activities that defined other sub lines that will take the agents that participate in its organization to innovative synergies. The 3 lines cross themselves and create relationships that can make the travellers (agents) change their way and transfer to another “station” (activity or action). Both activities and actions gather around 3 fare zones that represent 3 periods of development: initial, ongoing and mature stages of the project.