The Old Town Square in Trzebiatów is located in the city center, surrounded by townhouses dating back to the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. At the center of the rectangular market square is the Town Hall, built on a quadrangular plan and with an internal courtyard. Until recently, the square served as a transportation hub, serving as a crossroads for travelers traveling from Kamień Pomorski to Kołobrzeg, as well as to nearby seaside towns. The completion of the city bypass has limited vehicular traffic within the square. It typically serves residents, who use it for official business, shopping, and strolling. A flower bed has been created in the southern part of the square, but it is inaccessible to users and serves no recreational purpose. The square lacks places to sit and relax. Nearly 40% of the square’s area around the townhouses surrounding the square is currently covered by asphalt roads, limiting its use.
It seems that the potential of this unique location on the city map is not being fully utilized. The square, beyond its official function, serves as a circulation point, but it neither stops nor defines space nor functions. It is subordinated to vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic on the square’s perimeter, leaving the detached Town Hall in the center, along with an island of greenery inaccessible to the public.
The project to renovate the Market Square in Trzebiatów primarily aims to enhance the attractiveness of the area and return the entire historic square to residents. It is paramount to provide it with functional uses that allow residents to fully utilize its potential. It is essential to integrate it architecturally and urbanically into the surrounding area and urban landscape. The square should highlight the strengths of Trzebiatów, a jewel of medieval urban planning and architecture.
There is no doubt about the merits of transforming the Old Town Square into a pedestrian zone, eliminating the unnecessary wide asphalt roadways, a relic of previous systems. The changes being implemented should create an attractive space that engages passersby and encourages them to linger. By using the market square, we don’t limit our perception to the square itself. This space is also created by viewing axes and communication links. The historical division of the restored surface, thanks to strips of rowed granite paving stones that connect the square’s corners with the town hall, divides the square into four trapezoidal fields. These surfaces, now clearly visible, allow for the division of the square into different functions while maintaining its visual uniformity. Defining these fields based on a contemporary approach to public space design, embracing innovation and an environmentally friendly approach to shaping urban spaces, is one of the main ideas guiding this redevelopment project.
One of the fundamental programmatic objectives is to create a space where residents can enjoy their time and socialize. For tourists, the square should be a mandatory part of their city tour. A place for coffee, ice cream, relaxation, and admiring the historical gems that are characteristic of Trzebiatów, including a fresco of an elephant on one of the adjacent tenement houses.
When creating the new space, an effort was made to subordinate it to the most characteristic city-forming functions essential to a modern agora. It is intended to be a place where residents live, where public, political, and personal events take place, and where everyday life unfolds. Therefore, the square was divided into functional sections, while simultaneously maintaining a sense of integrity, blurring the boundaries between them through the addition of modern architectural elements. The eastern side of the square primarily serves as the entrance to the City Hall building. This is the most official space, featuring tall flagpoles where residents conduct official business. As with the rest of the square, traffic will be pedestrianized, but access to the building is permitted for important business purposes and, for example, to the Civil Registry Office, with special permission. On this side, it was proposed to create summer gardens that would make the square more attractive and attract residents and tourists.
The northern side has been designated for important city events. It serves an urban function – an open, vibrant space for festivals, fairs, occasional markets, and special outdoor events requiring the installation of a temporary small stage, playing fields for streetball tournaments, an ice rink, and even mini-trains and carousels. This space is associated with city promotion, education, entertainment, and recreation. Formally, this part of the market square will be stripped of its permanent architectural elements to provide the largest possible space without the so-called “bumpers” for spectators, pedestrian traffic, and the aforementioned temporary functions. For various events, the one-way pedestrian lane can be closed. The technical facilities dedicated to events are planned to be located on the ground floor of the northern wing of the town hall, as is currently the case. As one of the few additional elements near the town hall, mobile “urban canopy” were planned, i.e. plant shades providing respite on summer days, and next to them tables for those willing to play chess or checkers.
The western side is a green belt, providing a semblance of a playground for children and adults to relax. It’s a modern urban meadow where young and old can run freely. Deckchairs and other street furniture could be placed there. Temporary exhibitions and mini-galleries in the form of stands that can be freely positioned throughout the space are also planned. This is the most informal part of the market square. This section features concrete seats, a strong design accent, and offers panoramic views of the local church tower.
The southern side is a small jungle, an oasis of relaxation, with the greatest density of greenery, a direct reference to the Rega River flowing through Trzebiatów, but also to the sea, located just 10 km to the north. Jets of water, illuminated by multicolored light sources and enlivened by sound, not only provide refreshment on hot days but also become a place for adults to relax and for younger visitors to play. It’s also a tourist attraction. This green space features numerous benches for resting. It’s a convenient spot for those waiting for a meeting, senior residents, and tourists admiring its charms. At the eastern end of this mini park stands the city’s symbol, the Elephant sculpture, which is the pride of Trzebiatów’s residents and a huge attraction for visitors.
The design of dividing the square into individual zones organizes it and allows visitors to find a place “just for themselves.” Each zone is accessed from the main walkway, highlighted by rows of cut granite paving stones. The square’s floor pattern reflects the idea behind the individual design of street furniture, flower beds, planters, seating, and parklets based on circular geometry, allowing for a clear distinction between historical and newly designed elements.
The surface material for the urban zone is granite paving stones, arranged in a circular pattern. The square’s floor pattern reflects the idea behind the custom-designed street furniture, flowerbeds, planters, seats, and parklets, based on circular geometry, allowing for a clear distinction between historical and newly designed elements. The historic strips surrounding the Town Hall and dividing the square into trapezoids will be made of dark gray granite paving stones, arranged in rows. The sidewalks along the tenement houses and in the area of the outdoor dining areas will be made of light gray granite slabs. The entire square will feature recessed curbs and granite edging, with a maximum height difference of 2 cm, ensuring comfortable movement even for people with disabilities. The seats and platforms are made of properly sealed wooden planks.
The surface is designed to be unobtrusive; the colors and patterns are simple and subtle. It is the catalog of street furniture, individually designed for this project, that determines the atmosphere of the place and the purpose of each space on the square. The pre-defined lines introduced into the floor organize the space and guide us to the elements we want to encounter when moving around the market.
Vehicular traffic in the planned area is expected to be limited to the absolute minimum. In place of the two remaining one-way pedestrian lanes, along the east-west and west-east axes (Wincentego Witosa and Wojska Polskiego Streets), so-called “woonerfs” are being designed, introducing granite paving elements to slow down traffic, along which 12 parallel parking spaces for limited parking periods are located, and interspersed with low- and medium-height greenery.
An important aspect of the program is adapting the square’s functions to the needs of residents, ensuring it is a place they enjoy and can identify with. Each section of the square will have a place to sit and linger for a short or longer time.
The square’s lighting concept utilizes modern LED technology, which is both safe and energy-efficient, but also allows for the manipulation of its color and intensity, giving the structures an interesting, modern character. The walls and seats will feature recessed side lighting, while the benches and parklets will be illuminated from below along the edge of the bench wall, providing privacy for those seated while simultaneously creating a subtle sense of levitation. The public area of the square is illuminated by tall lamps and scattered light points on the floor, creating a starry sky effect. The green areas will be illuminated by spotlights, adding a touch of light and ensuring safety. The entire square is accessible to wheelchair users.
Greenery will be a key element of the project, enhancing its value. The planned redevelopment, focused on changing its function, will not be complete without the planting of ornamental shrubs and trees. Creating a unique “green microclimate” will certainly distinguish the planned project from many others, where the sole use of “concrete” has backfired. Each side of the planned square will feature green accents, encouraging people to spend time in these spaces. The southwestern side, the sunniest side, is particularly well-planned for greenery. Green umbrellas or structures with climbing plants will protect the space from overheating in the summer, while the climbing plants, trees, and shrubs will create interesting compositions, and, together with the water area, will enhance the feeling of pleasant coolness in the summer, thanks to the humid air. The materials we will be working with include tall greenery – for example, shaped plantings of stately trees, medium-sized greenery consisting of monoculture beds of shrubs, climbers, and ornamental grasses – as well as short greenery in the form of lawns, creating green carpets for relaxation. The distinctive elements of the composition include the multi-stemmed trees and shrubs, particularly attractive in the evening lighting, and ornamental grasses reminiscent of the coastal neighborhood. The selection of varieties and species will be based on the assumption of the greenery’s attractiveness throughout the year – including winter, where evergreen species will be used – but also on its durability and resistance to harsh urban conditions. Anti-smog vegetation is planned. A rainwater recovery system is planned for watering the greenery. These urban and architectural solutions, based on a comprehensive analysis of ecological functions and a contemporary approach to public space design, are intended to harness the potential of this space, rediscover its functional possibilities and attractiveness. Returned to use by residents and visitors, the space will integrate and encourage shared activities.