Even though Russians often call Moscow the “Third Rome,” the city’s first agora appeared only in autumn 2017. Khokhlovka Square, formerly just another abandoned construction site common in Moscow and other Russian cities in the mid-1990s, was transformed into an amphitheater – the first architectural object of its kind in Moscow.

[tttgallery id=”620″]

The public space has become an all-weather space and groundbreaking open-air museum, combining contemporary design with an archeological segment of a 16th-century fortification wall. Today it is a must-see destination in the Russian capital: within a year, the number of user-submitted photographs featuring it on social media grew 15 times.

Abandoned for nearly a decade

Located on a busy part of Moscow’s historic Boulevard Ring at the intersection with Pokrovka Street, Khokhlovka Square was slated to become an underground parking lot, but work was halted in 2007 after a surprising archeological find: a segment of the 16th-century White Town fortification wall, marking the border of medieval Moscow. The site was abandoned for nearly a decade. It was also a major obstacle for pedestrians walking along the Boulevard Ring.

The space got a new lease on life when Strelka KB, Russia’s largest urban consultancy, proposed turning the site into a public space to the Moscow City Government, with an amphitheater that would showcase the White Town wall section. The project was organized as part of the Moscow Street program, a large scale initiative to create a safer, more livable Moscow through revamping streets and public spaces. The square was developed by Strelka KB in collaboration with the landscape architecture studio Djao-Rakitine and in 2018 was recognized with the Moscow Urban Forum Community Award in the Urban Design category.

[tttgallery id=”621″ template=”content-slider”]

A sense of privacy and intimacy

From an architectural perspective, Khokhlovka Square descends several meters below street level to the fragment of the White Town wall. Behind the 16th-century fortification is an architectural concrete wall covered by Virginia creeper vines, serving both as a protective structural element and a contrasting background for the light stone monument. The eco-friendly water-permeable paving system used at the base of the amphitheater helps absorb rainwater, along with a system of collection grates that redirect rainwater away from the surface and strengthen the amphitheater’s foundation. Meanwhile, the base of the amphitheater offers a flexible open space, and the steps leading to it feature wood planking, allowing them to be used as seats in any weather. The steps leading down to it create an accessible approach, with a ramp suitable for users of varying levels of mobility, and together with several large trees planted around the perimeter, they give a sense of privacy and intimacy, offering shade and shelter from sun, wind, and passing cars.

Round-the-clock point of attraction

The site’s popularity after reconstruction was measured by Strelka KB’s Center for Urban Anthropology. Whereas street activity was minimal due to the abandoned construction site, in the twelve months following reconstruction the percentage of photos taken on the street increased from 28% to 45%, and data shows a wide variety of activities in the amphitheater itself, from picnics to outdoor sports. Most importantly, the area became a round-the-clock point of attraction: whereas the Pokrovka Street area was once best known for its nightlife, it is now a daytime destination as well, with the percentage of photos taken during the daylight hours nearly doubling. The increased foot traffic fostered the opening of trendy new spots, including one of the most popular pizzerias in the city.

Thoughtful preservation

New York’s Times Square got another attraction: The “XXX Times Square with Love”. The three X-shaped sculptures have nothing to do with the shady past of the famous place. They have the function of relaxing loungers. The designers from J. Mayer H Architects were inspired by the shape of the crossroads where the Broadway crosses 7th Avenue.

[tttgallery template=”content-slider”]

A Progress For Pedestrians

During the last years, Times Square has undergone a positive development. After it turned slowly from a red-light district with high crime rates into a touristic shopping and theatre district, the place can once again build on its glorious past. A milestone was the conversion from one of New York’s busiest crossings into a pedestrian zone in 2009, making the world-renowned crossroads finally a pleasant stay for visitors. Since then, many festivals and cultural events have taken place. Also, from time to time, Times Square functions as an exhibition place for sculptures.

More Than An Objet D’art

One of the art projects that can now be admired is the “XXX Times Square with Love”. The work of the Berlin design office J. Mayer H consists of three X-shaped loungers where visitors can relax. Each lounger can accommodate up to four people, while the legs of the “X” are slightly bevelled. Thanks to this shape, people face and can communicate with each other or just enjoy the stunning views. The name of the sculptures refers to the digital age, where greeting messages are exchanged via social media. In fact, the bright pink loungers can be quickly recognized on webcams and photographs: on average, they’re posted around 17,000 times per day on Instagram.

[ttt-gallery-image]

Rothschild Boulevard, Tel Aviv’s famous avenue, is buzzing with people on a sunny October day. Locals sip on a coffee in the cafes and tourists admire the Bauhaus buildings. Further north the cultural centre with Habima Square at its heart emerges, extending the boulevard to another main avenue, Dizengoff Street. The square, designed by Israeli artist Dani Karavan and completed in 2010, hosts a number of cultural institutions including the Habima Theatre, the Helena Rubinstein Pavilion of Contemporary Art and Jacob’s Garden.  The Mann Auditorium was the last building of the refurbished White City complex to reopen in 2013. At first sight the square is an empty vast open space dominated by Menashe Kadishman’s sculpture ‘Hitromemut’ and an artificial grass hill with a sycamore tree. It reveals its different facets only with the discovery of the more intimate sunken garden and a large reflecting water basin. The various elements allow the visitor to experience the site from different perspectives and change from being the observer to being observed.

The minimalistic design of Habima square diverts the attention to the revamped Habima Theatre and Mann Auditorium, all renovated as part of Tel Aviv’s centennial celebrations, their slick and glitzy appearance contrasting with the adjacent residential buildings. The White City of Tel Aviv obtained UNESCO world heritage status in 2003 for its innovative early 20th century town planning and Modern Movement architecture. Town planner Patrick Geddes’ first master plan in the 1920s envisaged the cultural centre to be a modern ‘Acropolis’ that combined all major cultural institutions. The plan was only partly implemented. The following decades saw the city centre decline and fall victim to new developments and a planning strategy favouring motorised traffic. Habima Square became a parking lot. The refurbishment of the historic cultural centre sparked a controversy about the extent of the renovations and questioned the city’s strategy of dealing with its cultural heritage. Construction at the Mann auditorium only started after legal battles with renovation opponents while the appearance of the most dominant building, the Habima Theatre, and hence the square was altered significantly.

[ttt-gallery-image]

The square itself has been embraced by locals and visitors and is a popular meeting point. Specifically the sunken garden has its appeal, with people lounging and reading books, young families spending time together and kids playing in the sand. In tradition with the spirit of the White City the design adopts a local character. The gardens display endemic vegetation. Cacti, lavender and almond trees commemorate the gardens located on the site before it was turned into a parking lot. The large sand area alludes to the sand dunes the city was built on. This introverted character of the square, focusing on the centre, also creates some issues as the integration of the surrounding urban fabric is neglected. The lack of activation of the square’s edges could be improved by establishing more cafes and public facilities. With shade being scarce, the glare of the bright sandstone paving in the Mediterranean sun would not make it a pleasant space in summer. Construction defects are showing on the paving, the grass is partly worn off and the steel edges exposed. As Dani Karavan himself explained to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, he was not satisfied with the execution of works. Yet the worn out parts are also a sign of the appropriation of this public space, another important aspect. Gentrification and exorbitant property prices are particularly problematic in the White City where many buildings still slowly decay despite (or because) of the high real estate values. It was partly because of these processes that people took to the streets. The social protests of 2011 started at Habima Square just after construction was completed. It was its unofficial inauguration when protesters pitched their tents and occupied the square, thus becoming known as Tel Aviv’s Tahrir Square. It continues to be used for all kinds of manifestations such as a rally of gay activists last December.

[ttt-gallery-image]

The name Ha Bima – meaning ‘the stage’ in hebrew – is referring to the performances in the theatre and auditorium, but also to the public life displayed in the square and the surrounding boulevards. This new civic aspect has possibly generated a reinvention of the initial ideas of Patrick Geddes, who has been called ‘a pioneer in his insight into the nature of city as an organism constantly changing in time and space’ by the UNESCO.