Tiber Two

2017 | 9,600m2 | River Intervention

About

There is a ‘dead space’ created by the Tiber’s concrete flood walls. The harsh and abrupt separation distinguishes two very distinct layers in the city’s urban landscape. The level at which the polluted water runs, and the layer at which the rest of the city lives on. What Tiber Two attempts to do is to take these two planes, and, within the walls of the river, utilise the rupture. The ‘in-between’ space becomes a feathered and sculptural multi-use plaza. The first plane is for the river. It is contained by a bridge of water that runs along at street height. For the most part functional, this plane maintains the rivers traffic. Plane two is for the people. It is entirely interactive and brings into the city a shallow, public pool of water. Whether the water is used to dip your feet into, for the children to swim or to maintain the romanticised separation of the city, the water is rejuvenating and it is cleansing. The concept is constrained by locks to a select section of the river, it is however able to be adapted and applied at any point through the city. The key is to attract people. Draw them into a sanctuary, a sunken retreat from the urban chaos and an escape from the bustle of the city.