The intervention of José Ignacio Linazasoro uses specific elements which take advantage of its singularity to reorganize the square organization and communication with the surroundings: the aforementioned basement-wall of the tower, a staircase and a fountain. The properties and location of each of these spatial configurators have been designed to successfully link and root the space inside the urban configuration, from the polychromatic ceramics of the fountain to the monumental stairs.
The two essential project materials that define the construction are concrete and stone, whose texture is combined with ceramics and bricks of the own space, together, they create a feeling of belonging to the city, as the square claims that it could not be in any other city. The plaza also serves as an area of urban articulation and communication to the centric Matías Abad St. and the Mausoleum of Teruel.
Description of the project by José Manuel Sanz arquitectos
INTRODUCTION
Lovers Square was at the beginning of the intervention, not exactly a square but a void caused by the Civil War bombings, which ravaged the city. There were, however, attempts in the period after the war -with varying degrees of success- to transform this void in a square relying on its central location and the dominant presence of the iconic San Pedro Tower. It had been built among the town houses and on the street, as the other Moorish towers of Teruel, in the manner of a tower-door to the city walls. But this situation drastically changed with the bombing, when the tower was left isolated by one of its sides, allowing its view from the bottom of the void that was intended to become the new plaza.
In 2008, a restricted competition for the square restoration was called. Some well-known European architects were invited, and the outcome has finally determined the outcome of the project.
The state the square was in at the time was bleak due to the deterioration of the previous intervention in the square, which took place in the early 70s. Another aspect which also contributed to the degradation of the space was the construction after the war of some buildings, whose characteristics made it difficult to set up an urban plaza. That is the reason why the initial idea of the proposal, which won the competition, was to design a tower foundation impeding the vision of the competing elements of the new access to the Mausoleum. The main idea of the project is to give the main role of the square to the tower itself.
The inclusion of a fountain comes from the idea of polychromy, very present in the city of Teruel through the Moorish towers and its ceramic elements. This decision would help to root the new square in its surroundings.
A terrace was projected at the same level as Matías Abad St., facing the square and the fountain. This space is shaped as an inclined plane between said deck and the lower bound. A tower ladder is introduced to access the Mausoleum.
The staircase leading up to Matías Abad St. has become, along with the new basement-wall in a fundamental aspect of the intervention, as it consists of the joint that sews the three square levels (including the terrace of the intermediate level) in a sequence or promenade.
ELEMENTS OF THE RESTORED PLAZA
The square is defined by three main elements: the fountain, the staircase and the terrace which connects them.
The fountain, included in the basement wall of the tower, is designed as a sheet of water formed by industrial pieces whose palette is based on Moorish ceramics, specifically those of San Pedro Tower, and slides down a ceramic wall. The texture of the wall, made of washed concrete with reddish arid, relates to the rough texture of the brick tower, thereby expressing their relationship of tower-foundation. A solid travertine run bank and a strong coping of the same material top the wall, whose horizontality contrasts with the verticality of the tower and hides the slope of Matías Abad St.
The staircase has a monumental character, as it consists of an urban stairway. It widens as it rises, and at its startup, the stairs rotate to symbolically welcome the public leading up from the lower level of the plaza.
MATERIALITY
Concrete and stone are the basic materials of the restoration. The first of them is placed with a tablet formwork on the stairs slab and on the porch, while the wall-washing base is made in concrete with arid violet reminiscent of stone and whose roughness harmonises with the brick tower. This roughness also contrasts with the ceramic coating of the fountain, mirroring the relationship between the tower, the brick and the ceramics of the tower.
The stone is the most abundant material in the plaza. Two different types have been used: Calatorao grey and travertine.
LIGHTING
Although some original lighting elements have been respected, such as two old lanterns that have been remodelled, most of the newly introduced lighting lamps do not resort to direct light, but remain hidden under the steps and banks, as well as between the porch joists.
