曼彻斯特城交易所广场

曼彻斯特城交易所广场

Exchange Square

Location: Manchester, UK

Client: Manchester City Council

Size: 1.21 hectares

Status: Completed 1999

Exchange Square, the site of an IRA bomb in 1996, is located in the heart of Manchester, UK. The square is at the heart of a vibrant retail and entertainment district which was developed for the turn of the millennium, over the last 10 years this district has catalysed the regeneration of the entire city centre.

Vital to the design of the square is that the plaza extends out to the building edges as its success, in part, is due to carefully “borrowing” the activity of the surrounding buildings and streets. Because of the existing topography, the sculpting of a plaza level change is the major design factor. The level change accomplishes three things. It creates places for a great variety of activities, it provides a setting for the surrounding buildings and it makes the square accessible to all.

Connecting the two levels is an exuberance of ramps and stairs that become objects of both movement and stasis. These ramps act as landscape-scale furniture, accommodating movement and informal seating.

The upper level is the largest open area of the site as well as where the majority of retail activity will take place. Inserted into this plane are flush-mounted rail tracks with inset colored glass panels lit from below. The tracks mark the historical importance of railroads in the industrial development of Manchester. The lines of colored light move the project into the twenty-first century. In a city that can be dark and overcast for much of the year, the effective use of light is a dramatic and wonderful addition to the public realm. Sliding along the tracks are moveable benches that allow seating to be rearranged as needed.

The lower level is the area of the site that will get the most sunshine and will accommodate outdoor dining with a close relationship to the fountain. The historic line of Hanging Ditch is brought to life through an abstracted river. An excavated “ditch” is fi lled with stepping stones and water. Arcing jets spray water along and over the stream. River Birch trees mark the line of the water feature giving a soft and more casual quality to this area.

位置：英国曼切斯特

客户：曼切斯特市政局

规模： 1.21公顷

状态：于1999年竣工

交易所广场是1996年爱尔兰共和军炸弹爆炸的地方，它位于英国曼彻斯特的中心地带。从千禧年开始，这个广场慢慢发展成一个人流量非常大的零售和娱乐中心，在过去的10年里，这个地区促进了整个城市中心的重建。

在这个广场的设计中至关重要的一点是，它延伸到了附近的建筑，因此成功地吸收了附近建筑和街道的人流。由于现有的地形，广场水平高度变化是主要的设计因素。水平高度的改变能为各种各样的活动创造场所、为周围的建筑提供了一个环境以及让周围所有人都能看到广场。

连接这两层的是一些斜坡和楼梯，斜坡的两边可以作为座位供路人休息使用。

上层是该广场最大的开放空间，也是大多数零售店的所在地。在这片开放空间的地面上镶嵌着有玻璃板覆盖的火车轨道。这些轨道标志着铁路在曼彻斯特工业发展中的历史重要性。玻璃板的彩灯线条将它带入了二十一世纪。在一个一年的大部分时间里都是灰蒙蒙的城市里，光的有效使用是一个公共空间在设计上的巨大补充。轨道上是一些可以沿着轨道滑动的长椅，它们可以根据需要来拼座。

下层则是这个广场阳光最充足的地方，并且可以让人们在喷泉旁边用餐。这里有一条具有历史意义的“吊沟”。“吊沟”的下面是一些石头和水，弯曲的喷头会把水喷到石头上然后形成一条小溪。

出处：本文译自marthaschwartz.com/，转载请注明出处！