The large green open spaces that surround the Seu Vella Cathedral and dominate the whole city are the most beautiful public areas in Lleida, and are what we chose as our reference point. The designs for the new Ricard Viñes Square must possess some of this beauty. The focus of our proposal is to build a large green open space for a sculpture dedicated to the musician Ricard Viñes. A space full of little squares 0 5 10 cross section and green areas at a point where the city throngs with traffic and pedestrians. The maze or labyrinth provides an ancient model. The cultural meaning and interpretation of the symbol of the labyrinth run deep. The origin of the “labyr” part of the word has to do with rocks and stone, while the “inth” comes from a Greek word meaning foundation site. Even though the precise etymology is unclear, there was a time when path mapping was used to notate dance choreography.

We propose an open space featuring a dance floor with a labyrinthine path guiding the steps of those dancing the spring dance around the central feature – a feature that generates and guides the movement of the dance, filling the surround space with life. People and traffic will move differently in Ricard Viñes Square, where pedestrians will own the public space. 

Everyone will follow the paths mapped by the dance notation, but with no overlap. Perhaps the closest reference to our design idea is Francesc Macia Square in Barcelona, in one of the busiest areas of the city, and at a key transit point in and out of the city. Other European cities are famous for the spectacular circles in their metropolises, such as the Etoile in Paris or Berlin’s Tiergarten with its famous column topped by an angel. In the UK, the architect John Wood created one of Bath’s most iconic features with the Royal Crescent whose circular green spaces control the flow, and substantially contribute to defining and propagating the city’s image. Circular spaces are not normally accessible and for this reason are often laid out as parks, regulating traffic flow and giving drivers a glimpse of the natural world. 

We have designed a maze for the circular space in Calle Roure. We like incorporating the idea of a labyrinth into the idea of an entrance. The city entrance to Lleida is a new green gate. The project is made up of a circle and new square for the city: 

1. The circle ends in a labyrinthine pattern, made up of bands of planting and brick paving. 

2. The square is split up by green areas; a maze of trees and low shrubs that are visible from the roadway. This greenery helps organise the neighbourhood’s leisure activities with bars, children’s play areas, benches and pedestrian pathways. The two streets that feed into the square will be pedestrianised, using natural stone paving, and they will be softened by new tree planting and small green spaces which will punctuate the entrances to residential buildings. From one side of the circle a wide sculptural light source will illuminate the whole square, underlining both the idea of the community that inhabits a public space and the street party concept as a mark of collective identity. A new sculpture installed in the middle of the circle will become the landmark that makes this place stand out from the rest of the city. 

Official name of the project: Ricard Viñes Square
Location: Lleida, Spain
Surface: 9200m2
Cost: 3.500.000€
Material: concrete, rubber, granitic stone and grass / Bench – wood and metal frame
Project end date: November 2010
Client: Lleida City Hall
Name of the participating firms: 
Lights: INCONEL – ILUCA
Metallic Structures: CALDELSA
Pavement: GLS, Spain, Bench (urban furniture) – MAGO
Gardening: Vivero Paraire, Spain – Glauca, Spain
Name of the main partners: Benedetta Tagliabue (Architect)
Chief Architects: Josep Ustrell, Daniel Rosselló

COMPETITION 
First Prize, November 2007
Collaborators: Alessia Bettazzi, Alice Failla.
3D: Giuseppe Maria Fanara.

PRELIMINARY PROJECT 2007
Chief Architect: Josep Ustrell
Collaborators: Alessia Bettazzi, Ivan Grippaldi, Jose Manuel López Ujaque 
Urban furniture: Mireia Soriano Alfara
3D: Armando Arteaga, Aylin Alfaro Montoya
Model: Gabriele Rotelli, Vanessa Tanguy, Barbara Asnaghi Gordillo

EXECUTIVE PROJECT 2008-2010
Chief Architect: Josep Ustrell, Daniel Rossello
Collaborators: Ivan Grippaldi, Jose Manuel López Ujaque, Susana Osés Lana, Verena Vogler, Silvia Cama, Georgina Monica Lalli, Nataly Raab.
Model: Gabriele Rotelli, Ginette Gotti Carvajal

WORKS 2009-2010
Chief Architect: Josep Ustrell, Daniel Rosselló
Collaborators: Susana Oses Lana, Francesca Origa, Francesc Mercadal, Ana Isabel Ferreira, Jack O’Kelly, Belén Callejas, Cinzia Oggianu