Stratford's Market Square And The Campo In Sienna 19
The Market Square, the Town, and the Planet
Published in the Stratford Gazette, 22 August 2011.
At the Discovery Session in May 2012, where ideas and prospects for revitalizing the Market Square were discussed, one of the panelists, Rick Haldenby, O’Donovan Director of the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture, compared Stratford’s Market Square to the Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy. Ian Panabaker, Corporate Manager of Downtown Renewal in Guelph, has on a different occasion drawn the same comparison.
With the project for our Market Square’s revitalization coming closer, it’s worth examining what led these experts to make that very significant comparison.
The Campo in Siena is one of the world’s great public spaces. Every expert in urban design praises it. It is the historic centre of Siena, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the UNESCO World Heritage website, “the Piazza del Campo is one of the most remarkable urban open spaces in all Italy.” It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. It tops the Project for Public Spaces’ list of the best squares and plazas in the world.
Having our Market Square favourably compared to the Campo in Siena is, therefore, a very big deal.
What Rick Haldenby said at the Discovery Centre was: “The Market Square in Stratford is one of the most promising public spaces in Canada, North America, and I would say has the potential to be of the quality that would rank it with some of the great public spaces in Europe. I cannot help but think of the Campo in Siena.” I e-mailed asking him to expand on this, and his reply helps us to see our Market Square with new eyes.
In the first place, neither of the two “squares” is a square. The Campo is shell-shaped, and ours – including the area covered by the City Hall – is a triangle. Each of them has a municipal building along one side as the focus. Rick writes: “In both cases the form gives much more prominence to the City Hall than would be the case if the ‘square’ were actually square or rectangular. The configuration also creates in both cases a sense of theatre where the open space is, in effect, the ‘house’ and the municipal building the stage back or set.” This dramatic effect is enhanced by the tower on each of the buildings.
Both spaces are surrounded by a more-or-less continuous circumference of mixed-use buildings; our Square is surrounded on most sides by historic buildings whose beauty could be enhanced by a thoughtful and well-informed design of the space. The ones in Siena create the same effect of warm reddish brick as do most of those here.
As is obvious when you look at a map or aerial view, both spaces are central to the layout of the city, the focal point of converging streets. Neither square has a main street running through its centre. The almost complete banishment of vehicular traffic from the Campo makes it much more attractive for residents and tourists alike, and for public gatherings, civic events, and rituals. It is the focus for public life in the city. In that way it an be a model for the future design of ours.
The two spaces are comparable in extent; the open area of ours is about three-quarters the size of the Campo. The Campo has an important fountain on the side opposite to the Palazzo Pubblico, just as ours would, according to the Plant Architect Inc. design concept, have a water feature – a low water wall near the Wellington Street end which would use recycled rainwater.
We can all see the similarity for ourselves if we compare the image given here of the Campo in Siena with our Market Square as viewed from, for instance, the south-east or north-east corner.
We have a treasure here in Stratford. The similarities between the two spaces show that our Market Square does indeed have the potential to be a world-class public space, and it deserves a world-class design.
For more information see “Piazza del Campo” in the Wikipedia, and “Historic Centre of Siena” at http://whc.unesco.org.
For information about Market Square and the Plant Architect Inc. design concept see www.stratfordmarketsquare.ca.
Brandis has lived in Stratford since 1996 and is a full-time writer. She is the author of a number of books – visit Marianne's website
Published in the Stratford Gazette, 22 August 2011.
At the Discovery Session in May 2012, where ideas and prospects for revitalizing the Market Square were discussed, one of the panelists, Rick Haldenby, O’Donovan Director of the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture, compared Stratford’s Market Square to the Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy. Ian Panabaker, Corporate Manager of Downtown Renewal in Guelph, has on a different occasion drawn the same comparison.
With the project for our Market Square’s revitalization coming closer, it’s worth examining what led these experts to make that very significant comparison.
The Campo in Siena is one of the world’s great public spaces. Every expert in urban design praises it. It is the historic centre of Siena, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the UNESCO World Heritage website, “the Piazza del Campo is one of the most remarkable urban open spaces in all Italy.” It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. It tops the Project for Public Spaces’ list of the best squares and plazas in the world.
Having our Market Square favourably compared to the Campo in Siena is, therefore, a very big deal.
What Rick Haldenby said at the Discovery Centre was: “The Market Square in Stratford is one of the most promising public spaces in Canada, North America, and I would say has the potential to be of the quality that would rank it with some of the great public spaces in Europe. I cannot help but think of the Campo in Siena.” I e-mailed asking him to expand on this, and his reply helps us to see our Market Square with new eyes.
In the first place, neither of the two “squares” is a square. The Campo is shell-shaped, and ours – including the area covered by the City Hall – is a triangle. Each of them has a municipal building along one side as the focus. Rick writes: “In both cases the form gives much more prominence to the City Hall than would be the case if the ‘square’ were actually square or rectangular. The configuration also creates in both cases a sense of theatre where the open space is, in effect, the ‘house’ and the municipal building the stage back or set.” This dramatic effect is enhanced by the tower on each of the buildings.
Both spaces are surrounded by a more-or-less continuous circumference of mixed-use buildings; our Square is surrounded on most sides by historic buildings whose beauty could be enhanced by a thoughtful and well-informed design of the space. The ones in Siena create the same effect of warm reddish brick as do most of those here.
As is obvious when you look at a map or aerial view, both spaces are central to the layout of the city, the focal point of converging streets. Neither square has a main street running through its centre. The almost complete banishment of vehicular traffic from the Campo makes it much more attractive for residents and tourists alike, and for public gatherings, civic events, and rituals. It is the focus for public life in the city. In that way it an be a model for the future design of ours.
The two spaces are comparable in extent; the open area of ours is about three-quarters the size of the Campo. The Campo has an important fountain on the side opposite to the Palazzo Pubblico, just as ours would, according to the Plant Architect Inc. design concept, have a water feature – a low water wall near the Wellington Street end which would use recycled rainwater.
We can all see the similarity for ourselves if we compare the image given here of the Campo in Siena with our Market Square as viewed from, for instance, the south-east or north-east corner.
We have a treasure here in Stratford. The similarities between the two spaces show that our Market Square does indeed have the potential to be a world-class public space, and it deserves a world-class design.
For more information see “Piazza del Campo” in the Wikipedia, and “Historic Centre of Siena” at http://whc.unesco.org.
For information about Market Square and the Plant Architect Inc. design concept see www.stratfordmarketsquare.ca.
Brandis has lived in Stratford since 1996 and is a full-time writer. She is the author of a number of books – visit Marianne's website