Trace proposes a new cultural landscape around a historic water fountain in Peja, Kosovo. Designed by Alexandra Ilinca Domnescu, Daria-Alexandra Pirvu and Mario Eduard Peiciu, the unbuilt proposal received first prize in the 2025 Peja Culture Pavilion competition. Its starting point is the relationship between the fountain, the surrounding buildings and the people moving through the square.

An oval amphitheatre lowers the gathering space beneath street level, creating a stepped edge for sitting, watching and meeting. A mirrored wall divides the bowl, reflecting the surrounding city while giving the fountain a more intimate setting. The intervention turns changes in level into usable public space.

Alongside it, a rectangular pavilion accommodates exhibitions, performances and community activities. Movable panels and adaptable staging allow its interior to change with the programme. The compact building and open-air seating work together, extending cultural use beyond an enclosed room.

The drawings distinguish quieter daytime use from evening performances. Trees, shade and the fountain support pauses in everyday city life; the same stepped landscape becomes an audience space after dark. Trace offers an architectural reading of urban renewal through the close arrangement of heritage, landscape and shared activity.

Explore the proposal and drawings on Buildner. Cover visualization by the design team, via Buildner.