Delight Piazzale degli Eroi

a. Proximity

Unlike other Roman piazzas, Piazzale degli eroi is not a destinations point. Its organization heavily favors the seamless flow of traffic and completely ignores the concept of stationary use. Only a few meters from the Cipro metro and bus station, the piazza is very much linked into the rest of Rome’s public transit, it effetely connects the inhabitants to the rest of the city.

Piazzale degli eroi, though not classified as a destination itself, has many points of interests along its borders. The piazza is given importance because of its close proximity to important destinations; it is only 100 meters from the Vatican Museum. Adjacent to the piazza is Ospedale Regionale Oftalmico, a central hospital that services most of the Prati area.

b. Repetition

Looking at the fountain in the center, one can see the use of repetition in how its plan was laid out. It consists of a large circular tank that contains a layered composition with an octagonal base. The central structure has evenly arrayed concave niches that are ornamented with open shells. These niches are offset by pools of water; the centermost one houses the high water jet feature. The fountain is organized in this manner to offer an equal composition to the traffic on either side.

c. Simplest and Largest Figures

The piazza is surrounded by buildings on all sides; most of them six floors high. This continuous ring is broken by the arterial streets that pour into the piazza. Some of the more noticeable figures are the Scuole Pubbliche Elementare Giovan Battista Vico and

Denaro children’s park. The elementary school is the most modern building in the area; which makes it look the least articulated. The rest of the buildings fall into a state that makes them hard to distinguish from the urban fabric.

d. Figure/Ground Relationship

The fountain acts as the main means of organization for the piazza. The footprint it leaves on the ground dictates the flow of traffic and the location of the buildings. All the buildings orient themselves towards the fountain, but are recessed enough to allow for sufficient traffic flow.

e. Proportion

This piazza is not geared towards pedestrians. The ratio between pedestrian friendly areas and areas dedicated to automotive travel reveals how far off the proportions are. The sidewalk around the fountain does not allow for people to congregate. This renders the space directly adjacent to the fountain unusable. This is because the proportions are off; the area calls for a larger sidewalk area to be functional. The user observing the fountain find them tightly pinned between the fountain and speeding traffic.

f. Scale

Piazzas of importance in Rome have a rather large scale; they even show up on the city scale. Piazale degli eroi almost does not exist when looking at Rome on this scale. It has no historical presence compared to other locations like Saint Peters or Piazza del Popolo. It tries to mimic Fontana delle Najadi. Najadi is more successful because of its larger scale in comparison to the city. The architecture responds to the fountain and follows its curve.

g. Rhythm

Looking at literal rhythm, the stop and go pattern of the traffic undoubtedly affects the way the user engages the space. At night when there is less traffic the piazza is much more attractive for pedestrians. At that point however, all the venders have long closed and the space dies for the night.

h. Texture

Much like the rest of Rome Piazzale degli eroi consists mostly of brick, travertine, and concrete. The majority of the building facades have a concrete stucco finish that drowns out any detail that could have taken place. One of the buildings has a brick façade with ornamentation still present. The fountain itself has a very modest appearance. Built in the 1950 with a minimalist mindset, it does not have any interesting textures.

I. Light and Color

The piazza opens up enough to allow sun light in at all hours of the day. No large shadows are cast on the site, making it ideal outdoor space (though it it’s not enjoyed by the pedestrians). This light falls on mostly dull colored buildings. Along with the textures, there isn’t very much color in the area. It consists of mostly earth tones, with one building painted different shades of pastel orange. The little greenery on the site ads a little bit of dimension, but not much.

j. Ornament

Ornamentation is almost entirely absent from the site. This comes as a surprise when comparing it to the rest of Rome. Some can be found on the side of the fountain, in the form of seashells. There is slight ornamentation on the building with the brick façade, but other than that there is nothing.