Komenius square Dobris

Komenius Square is a 19th century rectangular space which was built together with the adjacent town school. A memorial to fallen soldiers of WWI was in its centre and later was moved to another location to allow for car traffic. With the automobile use increasing the space had become a public car park. In the last years the amount of traffic has become a safety concern particularly with regards to the number of pupils entering or leaving the school. The town’s decision to remove parking from the square has opened opportunities for a new calm and safe public space. The key design idea was to revitalize the composition of two tree alleys lining up the square perpendicularly to the school frontage. The proposal has unified the levels to a complete step free pedestrian surface. A long green area with trees replaced a missing edge of the square, supported by a long bench. New meeting and socializing spaces were proposed and the original WWI memorial was returned to the square restored. A new fountain with seating was designed close to the memorial. The square is furnished with quality street furniture and pockets of greenery. All trees are interconnected by root bridges which act as collectors of all surface rainwater. Creating excellent ground conditions for trees and their annual care were the key project criteria.