Saturday may 29th we were in Concordia sulla Secchia (MO) for the inauguration of the new Gina Borellini square, whose project bears the signature of the architects Alessio Bernardelli and Simona Avigni, partners and founders of studio KM429 Architettura in Viadana (MN). On this occasion we proposed a brief interview to the architect Bernardelli on their way of doing architecture and on the project just inaugurated.
1- What were the main challenges you faced in carrying out the project?
The main challenge was to design a square that was initially a meeting place, but also a symbol of rebirth. So the choice was to provide an empty, inclusive and barrier-free space. A multiple square, with the possibility of being used in various ways, from a urban living room to meeting place to an open-air cinema. A multiple square, with the possibility of being used in various ways, from a city living room to a meeting place to an open-air cinema.
Few architectural gestures have been included: an oak symbol of resistance and tenacity in memory of the 2012 earthquake and a fountain that silently fits inside the paved space.
2- When you insert a fountain in a masterplan, what is the goal of this choice?
A fountain in a place, in that case in a square, is always a work of art. Art created by the water games that reflect the seasonal changes and offer the possibility to be admired or used by children.
So the fulcrum, a meeting place, but above all symbol; here in Concordia the Secchia river flows very close, to which the city is strongly linked.
3- The pandemic has led to a review of the way of thinking about architecture. In your opinion, what changes should we make everyday life from the point of view of urban planning?
It is difficult to answer questions that in my opinion are in the making. Perhaps this pandemic has crushed the idea of urban planning on “paper”. The ideas of zoning the territory in a rigid and programmatic way have failed. It is necessary to go back to thinking about urban planning and the territory with the historical mix with which the city and the territory were formed. In our opinion, everyday life must become rethinking the public space as an extension of one’s home; therefore a domestic place, protected and cared for both from a perceptive and natural point of view.
