Village square Kronau

The newly designed village square in the heart of Kronau serves as a meeting point in the public space. Sculptural wooden benches structure the square area, while a loose grove of different tree species creates the ideal reference to the former forest garden.
The open space can be used in a variety of ways: A car-free forecourt is being created in front of the children's house, where children and parents can meet on a daily basis. The fountain field provides a pleasant microclimate in summer, while boules can be played under the light tree canopy. Robust materials, a restrained use of fixtures and an appropriate planting concept are part of the concept for a versatile, multifunctional square.

The creation of a new centre as a meeting place and focal point for the Kronau community - this was the aim of the planning for the Kronau village square. The municipality of Kronau, which has around 5,700 inhabitants and is located between Karlsruhe and Heidelberg, has been experiencing continuous population growth for years. This is largely due to the surrounding cities, such as Heidelberg, Mannheim and Speyer, which represent workplaces and centres of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. In contrast to these historically grown cities, the smaller communities often lack identity-forming open spaces. This made the conception of a publicly accessible meeting place and event location for smaller festivities all the more important. The demolition of buildings in the centre of the village offered the opportunity to realise this in the middle of the village centre. After the adjoining forester's lodge with the associated forester's garden had been renovated, it was possible to start planning the open space.
This envisages a spacious, paved square. While parking spaces have been created on the east side for the adjacent retail trade, the western half of the square serves as a place to stay. The new building of the children's house to the south was also integrated into the planning, as was the aforementioned forester's lodge to the northwest. Specially made, sculptural-looking benches bear the botanical and German names of some of the trees as inscriptions and thus establish a reference to the forest garden. At the same time, the wooden benches structure the square area, but can be moved aside if necessary. Thus, depending on the space required, sufficient room can be created for street festivals, weekly markets or other events. A part of the square area was made as a water-bound path surface, which invites to play petanque. Loosely distributed solitary trees of different species stand in it. The play of different leaf structures and autumn colours is also reflected in the planting concept of the elegantly designed flower beds. Thanks to the restrained choice of plants, they blend harmoniously into the overall design and provide additional quality of stay. In addition to the diffuse shadow play of the trees, a fountain field influences the microclimate of the village square. The quiet splashing of the water allows visitors to escape from everyday life, while the benches invite them to linger in the centre of Kronau.