Architects: Javier Galante and Sara Galante

Contribuitors: Mar Parrilla (architect), José Parrilla (architect), José Couto (video)

Something happens in Alameda de Osuna when the only traffic light in the neighborhood is next to a large wall that surrounds an empty lot. It is a particular element that speaks of this location, a discontinuity in a great plot, a broken gear that does not transmit movement.

 Our goal will be to replace this key piece to polish everything around it. An area that communicates and continues with the great plot thread present in Alameda de Osuna: the network of natural and historical spaces that moves between its buildings and the people who inhabit them.

 To achieve our goal, we establish 5 STRATEGIES so that the new Plaza de la Duquesa de Osuna provides a solution to the complexity of the problem and its different scales, social and monumental.

 To address this dual scaling issue, we offer a unique dual nature solution. We propose a large continuous blanket of open and natural spaces that connect two spaces differentiated by their height.

- The first, in the lower part of the action area, a large urban park, with a local character, which houses the type of daily social activities expected in any neighborhood. This park is aimed at satisfying residents who are looking to enjoy a quiet and spacious park, a park designed for the stay.

- Further up we find a square flanked by the Palacio de la Duquesa de Osuna, the Casa de Oficios, two bicentennial Platanus Hispanica and a humble fountain. Although it is smaller in size, it is a monumental space, appropriate to its context. It will be a transition space between the comings and goings of the users between these buildings. Also a space of rest and silence when they close their doors. Acting as a connector of the historical-cultural axis in its continuation towards the Castle.

 And, what happens in the transition between the square and the park? Acting as a hinge and on the dividing line (where we find Calle de la Fuente at the time) there is an endowment band. This is a strip where dotational building is planned. It is the key piece in the proposal that unifies the monumental and social duality. The new building dialogues with its surroundings through two planes.

1. The street plan: Free circulation between the square and the park is allowed when walking outside.

2. Interior plane: In the direction perpendicular to the previous flow, a new entrance (also accessible from the urban park itself) is created in El Capricho Park. The partial opening of the inner courtyard of the Casa de Oficios to connect it to the built band facilitates the operation of the complex and also provides a new architectural value to the place in relation to its history.

In addition, new accesses will be located both to buildings and to the park to redirect the flows of movement. The distribution of activity points in the field will also play a role.