During the 18th century, the Dukes of Osuna built the Palacio del Capricho, an aristocratic country property surrounded by a large garden, the sole Romantic park in Madrid, as well as other buildings such as stables and the service house. Today, next to the Palacio del Capricho there is a large abandoned urban space. Its renovation has been fostered through a public competition. In this context, we proposed a project that was based on an almost obvious premise, the strengthening of the connection between the neighbourhood and the palace and its garden, in which a Museum of the Enlightenment is to be established. Thus, the project was conceived as a space structured through a series of interconnected squares.
Square/Connector _ We understand the new public square of La Duquesa de Osuna as an ecosystem of connections and multiple relationships.
Programmed Square_ The square is loaded with rich and diverse programmatic content, allowing an intensive and continual use of the space. Educational, social, and cultural uses are organised along four successive, tiered horizontal bands that allow a fast reading of the square and its uses. Recreational and play areas are held in a pattern of interconnected squares and open spaces inserted in-between the “hard” programmes, which will be responsible for knitting together and organising these four programmatic bands.
Square vs. Urban garden_ A large collaborative space is proposed for the neighbourhood and the district, where ground use is mostly for community-managed urban gardens. Schools and Activation elements_ The vegetation will provide the space with the natural layer needed for the space to feel welcoming and comfortable, as well as giving it a management project with the collaborative growing of the gardens. Finally, a layer of facilities and urban furnishings will have the task of activating the different spaces created, making them work as stages prepared for action.
