2017 / Trivale Forest Park: the Green Lung of the city of Piteşti / A – Ideas
The present paper is concerned with the results of a study regarding the landscape regeneration and reintegration of the Trivale Forest-Park. The studied area lies on the northwest part of the Town of Pitești which is the main town in Argeș County situated in the south part of Romania. The peri-urban forest area stretches from the Zoological Garden to the city center, 2 km away from the Argeş River. The Trivale Park lies in the southern part of the studied site. The site contains vegetal and built elements with a historical value, which date back to the beginning of the 20th century.
The methodological approach includes 4 main stages: information gathering, on-site documentation, the synthetisation of the information resulting from the analyses conducted in the studied area and the elaboration of the strategy of reintegration and regeneration of the landscape at a functional and aesthetic level.
The synthesis revealed that the forest is a green enclave threatened by real estate development and the locals’ negligence, being unintegrated at a functional level in the urban context. The proposed solution for the exploitation of the forest-park consists in its activation as green lung of the town. The main objectives of the strategy are the insertion of new functions in the forest through minimal and sustainable interventions and the aesthetic exploitation of the historical park in the context of the integration of the forest-park.
The proposed solution consists of three design solutions corresponding to the park (The ”Cold Grotto” and The Trivale Monastery) and the forest (the panoramic tower with the treetop walkways). To highlight the characteristics of the new style, the forest, as well as the park, have been enriched with a series of pieces of exterior furniture which integrate very well through their design and functionality.
The “Cold Grotto” – detailed solution
This area has an important historical value, being constructed in 1899 as a resting place made of natural stone, where visitors would stop by and sit on the stone benches near large ice bricks that were meant to cool down the hot summer air. Given the fact that in the park there are few sodded surfaces, we have proposed the realization of such an area near the restaurant while in the central area, where the statue “Odihna” (Resting) made by Ion Călineşti is situated, the turfing will continue. Surrounding the aforementioned statue we have projected a small-sized labyrinth (40 cm height x 40 cm width) made of Buxus sempervirens „nana variegata”, with the purpose of framing the statue, along with 2 vases made of natural stone planted with Hydreangea macrophylla. Because of the fact that Trivale Park lacks the texture and color of flowering plants, the design project of `The Cold Grotto` includes a mixed border edging one of the main pathways.
Trivale Monastery Garden - detailed solution
Projected as an aromatic plant garden, the proposed design of the Trivale Monastery reminds us of the contribution brought to the progress of horticulture and the enrichment of the cultivated flora with new species brought by the pilgrims who travelled in the Orient. The proposed design includes numerous species of which the majority are perennial, like: Allium schoenoprasum, Armoracia rusticana, Levisticum officinale, Mentha spp.,Origanum vulgare, Rosmarinus officinalis, Salvia officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, a few biennial plants: Petroselinum crispum var. Crispum and annual: Ocium basilicum. These species are arranged on a microrelief realized by creating a series of level curves which have been placed at a distance of 20 cm from one another, leading to a greater spatial dynamic and to a better placement of the plants by emphasizing the difference between heights.
Panoramic tower and treetop walkway - detailed solution
As far as the panoramic tower detailed solution is concerned, we have provided a variety of sketches and 3D perspectives that illustrate a realistic simulation of the proposal. Both structures are made of wood on a metallic skeleton and they integrate well in the actual context. Situated in the center of the studied area, near the 320 m level curve, the construction creates a connection between the forest and the park through two treetop walkways that link Children’s Palace and the Trivale Monastery (300 m above sea level), ascending towards the panoramic tower and being joined at a height of 16 m through a circular treetop walkway which encircles the third level of the tower. The treetop walkways are built on a metallic structure encased in wood in order to provide safety and stability as far as its functionality is concerned. On an aesthetic level, the use of the wood encased metallic skeleton fully integrates into the sylvan scenery. Having a length of approximatively 500 m each, the treetop walkways traverse rivulets and pathways in the forest which can be accessed through spiral stairs which ensure an effortless transit at the higher level of the tree top walkways.
