While working as an architect in Italy, I was invited to join the Parnu Riverside Design competition, which was a competition for the design of a key community building in Parnu, Estonia.
When I took on the challenge, I knew immediately that it would be a completely different experience from working in Italy. Within Europe, Estonia is as far from Italy as one can get in terms of climate. It is a small country far to the north, across the Baltic Sea from Finland. In terms of distance, it is as far from Rome (to the north) as is the center of the Sahara Desert (to the south).
Winters in Estonia are severe, with constant sub-zero temperatures. Summers are pleasant, but short, and drive the population outdoors to enjoy the precious few months of gentle weather.
For this competition, I created a design concept featuring an all-season public space. The building was integrated with a public plaza, which had a slightly sunken floor. In summer, this would serve as a gathering space for meeting friends, and for staging public musical performances. In winter, the sunken floor would be flooded with water, which would freeze over, creating a seasonal ice-skating rink.
I made this innovation to infuse the design concept with the conviviality of my own Italian culture. In Italy, spending time with family and friends is vital for quality of life. I wanted to bring this to the site in Estonia, and make this conviviality resistant to the extremes of winter. I wanted the end-users of the building to associate that plaza with a sense of community, whether in the summer when enjoying warm weather, or in winter, when it transformed into something equally fun and welcoming. I was honored to learn that my design was awarded first place in that competition.
Later in my design career, I would come to the Philippines as my new adopted home, and I would find a culture so similar to mine, where family and friends are foremost. It then became very natural for me to incorporate this conviviality into my designs for public spaces in our IDC projects.
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