© Suzanne H.

Crowhurst Lennard
13 April 2011

The Square,
Hospitable Setting &
Spirit of Place

Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard Ph.D.

Director, International Making Cities Livable Conferences

International Workshop:
“The Public Space, a Place of Encounter”
April 27-29, 2011
Ibarra, Ecuador

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© Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard
13 April 2011

The Square,
Hospitable Setting &
Spirit of Place

Essential Physical Elements of the European Square

1. Transportation policy
2. Hospitable setting
3. Spirit of Place

1. Transportation policy

Traffic free or traffic tamed

To be hospitable, a plaza needs to be free of traffic. This movement began in Europe in the
1970s. At first, it was motivated by commercial interests; but it soon became clear that
removing automobiles not only increased economic turnover but also enhanced citizens’
experience of the architectural heritage, and improved the social ambience.

Mechanisms were developed to calm traffic in adjacent streets; and regulate who may drive
onto the square, when and why: emergency vehicles always have access; delivery to shops is
permitted during limited hours (usually weekday mornings until 10.30 am); residents have
access; and taxis and tourists may access their hotel.

For Salamanca, removal of traffic from Plaza Mayor was only the last in a series of
transformations:

1867 – unpaved, only one gas lamp in the center

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1890 – elaborate, Victorian-style park with formal flower gardens, walkways, hedges, trees, a
fountain in the center surrounded by a bench facing outwards, globe lamps and candelabra
lamps. It was fenced and separated from buildings by a road
1927 – The fountain is replaced by a bandstand and four curved benches face towards it. Trees
are removed but flower beds remain
1954-1985 – an asphalted car park
1985 – resumed its multi-functional social character – paved for social life, festivity

Parking
Many European cities took the opportunity of pedestrianizing the square to create underground
parking beneath it. Bruges incorporated underground parking beneath two large squares, as
did Strasbourg, beneath Place Klébèr and Place Gutenburg.

Ravensburg’s Marienplatz has four levels of underground parking.

Access by public transportation

European transportation planners realized that if they wanted to discourage people from using
their car they would have to improve access by public transportation. They closed adjacent
streets, preventing traffic from crossing the city, and brought public transportation into, or
close to the square.

In Ravensburg, as in other cities, busses pass through the square at walking speed.

Strasbourg’s light rail system stops in Place Klébèr, where it is also possible to pick up the
underground metro system.

Pedestrian and bicycle access

European transportation policy during the last quarter century has emphasized access by foot
and bicycle. The central square is usually the starting point for the development of extensive

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pedestrian and bicycle networks that in many cities extend out into the surrounding
countryside.

Paving for pedestrians

In most European squares, asphalt was replaced by stone setts laid in sand, permitting
rainwater percolation and preventing runoff. This vastly improved the attractiveness of the
squares for pedestrians.

Every city has developed its own paving design. In Goslar’s Markt red and silvery-grey stone
paving radiates outwards like the sun’s rays from the central stone fountain .

One of the most symbolic paving designs is in Siena’s Piazza Il Campo, created in the
thirteenth century. It is paved in golden brick laid in herringbone pattern. The space is divided
into nine segments, reflecting the historic Council of the Nine, the first democratic governing
council.

Freiburg, Germany treats the floor of the whole historic city as a carpet. Münsterplatz is paved
in large and small, rounded stones washed down by the rivers from the Black Forest, split to
provide a smooth surface for walking on.

Institutions, and businesses pay for emblems to be set in the pavement outside their entrance.
In front of a church one finds the church’s emblem; the Black Horse Inn is represented in the
paving, and so on.

Moreover, the city opened up the little streams, the “Bächle”, that run off the mountain through
Münsterplatz and they now offer delightful treatment for hot feet, or for children’s games.

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2. Hospitable setting

Seating: formal and informal

A great deal of subtle social contact takes place in public, even between strangers. Benches
arranged to face inwards permits eye contact and mutual acknowledgement which may, over
time, lead to an opportunity for conversation. The generous provision of comfortable seating in
most European squares encourages inhabitants to spend more time on the square, allowing
them to recognize and talk with one another.

Some European cities have designed benches curved or angled inwards. At Sterntor in Bonn,
three semicircular benches above the stream are very popular, especially for small groups of
friends. In the marketplace in Bergerac, France, pairs of benches are placed facing each other
beneath the trees, enabling conversation among friends and family.

The most successful squares accommodate people of all ages by offering a wide variety of
seating types. Older people need seating with back and arm rests. In some European squares,
inexpensive light weight movable chairs are provided. Bolzano in Northern Italy wisely
provides a wide variety of seating in their traffic-free main square, Walther Platz. Fixed
benches, wide planter ledges, steps, but above all, the individual movable chairs offer fine
hospitality.

In some situations - to wait for a friend, to eat a sandwich, or to pause on the way home –
people seek informal seating where they can rest a while, or perch to survey the scene.

Young people often prefer to be creative in finding a place to sit. The Neptune fountain in
Tuebingen’s Markt is very popular with students. Ledges, walls and steps allow for
spontaneity.

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A flight of steps overlooking a square is always popular: as in an arena, it seems like a place
for the audience to watch the drama in the plaza. The flight of steps in Tuebingen’s Holzmarkt
had been removed to create a parking lot. When the cars were removed, the steps were
replaced and immediately became a popular place to “hang out”.

Focal points, anchors

People are naturally gregarious, and like to gather where others are present, but they need
anchors where they can pause, or focal elements around which they can cluster. Fountains
draw people together, especially if the water is accessible.

Children always love to play in water.

Individuals or small groups anchor themselves to columns and bollards while surveying the
space. The stone pillars in Siena’s Piazza Il Campo are well designed and extremely adaptable.

Freiburg’s bollards on the market place are well designed for sitting on.

Public art
On the marketplace in hundreds of European cities new works of art are emerging, intended to
be enjoyed by all, especially children. They are accessible, easy for children to climb on, and
they tell a story. This is the patron saint of farmers, with pigs and piglets, at the location where
the piglet market was held in Wangen.

A sculpture group by Peter Lehmann of a pigherd, his dog, pigs and piglets, placed at the
entrance to Bremen’s old city, where herdsmen used to bring their pigs to market provides a
wonderful focal point, not only for children, but also for adults!

One of the most well known German sculptors working in the public realm is Bonifatius
Stirnberg whose work is usually designed to celebrate a city’s unique history, trades, industry

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or crafts. His works, which can be seen on more than one hundred European market places,
integrate seating, water and puppet-like figures that can be transformed into humorous, bizarre
or joyful positions. They are a powerful magnet for young and old.

Sun and shelter from the elements

Comfort is very important. Trees provide shade from the sun and shelter from the rain. They
extend the usability of the square, and encourage people to linger. Many squares in Aix en
Provence are filled with outdoor cafes and restaurants, and densely planted with plane trees
that cool and refresh the air, and create a dappled light.

In Sevilla and Toledo canvas awnings are used to shade plazas and streets.

3. Spirit of Place

Civic and Religious Buildings

Civic and religious buildings provide a focal point for community life.

Civic engagement is encouraged by the presence of city hall. Citizens are daily reminded of
their responsibilities in representational government, and the Mayor, city council and staff are
more accessible.

When hundreds of cities were founded in the Middle Ages, democratic city government was so
important that city hall was always placed on the main square, or at its center.

Every building generates its own pattern of social life. A church or cathedral brings religious
festivals, family gatherings at weddings and funerals, and social life before and after services.
Historic civic buildings transformed into tourist attractions, such as Krakow’s Cloth Market,
will attract crowds of strangers.

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There is seldom more than one major institutional or cultural building on a lively plaza. These
building take a lot of space, often have blank walls, appeal to a more limited population group,
and generate social life during limited hours.

Composition
The placement of buildings around the square transforms the square into a three dimensional
composition, emphasizing its distinct character. Imposing buildings, spires and campanile
articulate the vertical axis, increasing dramatic effects. This architectural articulation of Piazza
San Marco and the Piazzetta highlight the individual’s sense of being a significant actor on a
meaningful stage.

Size
The size of a square is important in relation to the size of the population and the type of social
life it accommodates. Telc’s Trziste Náměsti is too large for the size of the town’s present
population (5,000), though may have served well as a site for a medieval annual market fair.

Visual enclosure, continuous building walls

The sense of “inclusion”, the feeling that one is a member of the neighborhood, or of the city,
is subtly reinforced by the square’s visual enclosure. The space formed by the buildings feels
like a well-proportioned room or a grand hall. It nurtures a sense of belonging, and focuses
attention on people and activities within the square.

Threshold experience
Entering the square you know that you have arrived at the city’s heart, that you need go no
further. To emphasize the drama of arrival, streets or passages providing access are often
small, as in the Venetian campi, or angled in such a way that there is no direct view out of the
space.

Passing through a dark arch heightens the experience of crossing the threshold, and raises
one’s awareness of entering the public arena.

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Arcades
In Mediterranean countries such as Spain (Salamanca), Italy (Vigevano, Ascoli Piceno) and
Southern France (Uzés, Mirapoix), arcades provided cool shade from the summer sun. Many
are wide enough to accommodate not only pedestrian traffic and social life but also outdoor
cafes and shop displays. North of the Alps, in the Czech Republic (Telc, Nový Jičin, Kroměříž)
and in Poland (Poznan, Zamosc) arcades give protection from the snow and rain, rendering
shops and businesses easily accessible even in the most inclement weather.

Mixed Use: the Shop/House

Buildings around the square reflect a great variety of uses. The fundamental building type was
the shop/house, with shop or workshop at street level, offices and dwellings above.

It is extremely important to restore or renovate these historic buildings to accommodate a

permanent residential population.

Shops draw activity to the plaza, while the residential population above provides the core
community, and maintains the plaza’s safety.

Facades
The building facade is the “face” of the building. Most buildings around the typical European
square create a welcoming atmosphere in the public domain, facilitating contact through
windows that open, balconies and doors.

The proportions of the square are critical. Surrounding buildings are scaled to human
proportions and human use. They provide a visible human presence, to a maximum of 4 to 6
stories, the height at which it is still possible to communicate with people on the square.

Fine textured Urban Fabric

The successful European square is located at the center of a compact (but not high rise) urban
fabric consisting of contiguous small-scale buildings that form walls to the street.

In smaller towns these buildings are two or three stories high; in larger cities they may be five
or six stories.

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Behind the facades are small inner courtyards that may be semi-private , shared by the
residents, or used for public activities, small shops and restaurants.

Many small cities (Třeboň 9,000 or Telc) consist of only two blocks of urban fabric around the
square. Despite the small population, these squares have a truly urban character.

Crossing of pedestrian ways

It is this residential population who most frequently walk through the plaza on their way to
work, school, shopping or running errands and whose paths cross, affording the chance for a
conversation. When residents see each other on a regular basis, the “stranger” becomes a
“familiar”, and the “familiar” may become a friend. This generates a sense of community. For
children living nearby, the plaza thus becomes a safe place to play and to learn social skills in
the community.

Architectural identity
The city’s identity is exemplified in the architecture around the main square. Here are gathered
the most historic buildings, constructed with care, and generously adorned to express
community pride. As Henry James said, here one can “sense the aesthetic presence of the
past”.

It is important to establish architectural guidelines that protect the square’s historic character.
The predominant building materials, colors, building scale, details, and character of window
openings, of the best loved historic buildings should guide appropriate new development. In
Bruges, a city renowned for its historic character and brick architecture, a new brick building
respects the city’s DNA.

Cities can make mistakes that they later regret. Citizens of Bonn, Germany complained bitterly
when a concrete and glass department store, “Hertie” was built on Münsterplatz. After a
competing department store was constructed on the opposite side of the square, with windows,
pitched roof and dormer windows reflecting the best characteristics of traditional Bonn
architecture, Hertie was finally convinced to reconstruct their building.

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Even more egregious is the story of Ulm. Ulm has a beautiful church with the tallest spire in
the world, and an urban fabric of pitched roof, half-timbered buildings.

The Mayor of Ulm decided to follow in the footsteps of Bilbao, and “make Ulm a world-class
city” by hiring a famous American architect to design a signature building on Münsterplatz.
Richard Meier designed his usual, egocentric white building that eclipsed the church and
diminished the traditional urban fabric. The citizens were so disgusted that the Mayor and
council were immediately voted out of office.

During the Second World War, Hildesheim’s famous, medieval Markt was almost totally
destroyed.

They decided to enlarge the square, and framed it with modern buildings, following the latest
Modernist principles. Citizens hated it! In the late ‘60s a spirited public discussion arose,
culminating in the decision to demolish all the modern buildings,

They returned the square to its historic dimensions, and reconstructed the medieval and
renaissance buildings that had graced the square before the war.

Now the square is once again the heart of Hildesheim, loved and well used by all.

Conclusion
At its best, the plaza is a “structured invitation” to all citizens to meet, make contacts and
communicate with each other. Through its specific layout and ambience, it creates community
bonds and fosters city identity.

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