dermot foley landscape architects

dermot foley landscape architects

project: oltretorrente landscape and urban design

client: city of parma

team: d.foley s.canz e.cieslikowska e.tynan with ec architects location: parma
site: 118 hectares

design: 2009
status: competition entry

oltretorrente lies to the west of the parma river and constitutes the western half of parma’s historic city centre. the city of parma invited teams to make urban design, architecture and landscape architecture proposals for the city quarter.

dermot foley landscape architects, together with ec architects, developed a sensitive and pragmatic approach to the project, favoring local intervention over wholesale masterplan. small scale everyday spaces were identified for subtle transformation, modest buildings for creative additions and modifications, pedestrian links, new gaps and gates in historic boundaries. in tandem, three major long-term landscape proposals were identified for the river parma, the viale vittoria and the parco ducale. the approach to urban design is one of single-point projects, each one deliverable in its own right, but with the potential to catalyse.