KARLOVAC (HR) PROJECT SCALE — L – urban + architecture
SITE PROPOSED BY — City of Karlovac (municipality)
LOCATION — Karlovac
OWNER OF THE SITE — City of Karlovac,
POPULATION — 55,705 inhab.
State and private owners
STRATEGIC SITE — 500 ha / PROJECT SITE — 25 ha
POST-COMPETITION PHASE — Urban development plan
Damir Mandić — Mayor of Karlovac 1. WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE SITE MUTATION?
After the City of Karlovac became the owner of part of the former barracks, the conditions were reached to start the process of planning and development of the area. The spatial potential of this neglected and inappropriately used space has been waiting for years to be recognized and exploited. Now the urban transformation can finally begin with the hope that we have it ready for new investments and new projects that will benefit the entire city. This site has the potential to become a space of coexistence of housing, public functions and advanced forms of productivity based on new knowledge, technologies, research and innovation, which will enhance the quality of life in the city and fit into our vision of a comfortable living city. 2. HOW CAN THE SITE BE INTEGRATED IN THE ISSUES OF PRODUCTIVE CITIES? HOW DO YOU CONSIDER THE PRODUCTIVITY ISSUE?
86
The topic of productivity and the possibility to keep some forms of production within mixed-use urban areas, such as the former Luscic barracks, successfully complemented one of the strategic projects of the City of Karlovac on this location, i.e. exploration and use of geothermal energy from geothermal sources in the immediate vicinity of the city with expected significant energy capacities. Productivity in town can and should be multi-layered, from production within the concept of sustainable energy to multifunctional buildings, small individual self-sustaining systems that offer simple manufacturing and service uses needed in everyday life, while being compatible with basic purpose housing. 3. HAVE YOU ALREADY DEFINED A SPECIFIC PROCESS FOR THE URBAN AND/OR ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE AFTER EUROPAN COMPETITION?
The Europan 15 competition resulted in a vision of the development of space that should be incorporated into spatial plans. The intention of the City of Karlovac, in cooperation with Europan and the awardwinning team, is to explore the possibilities of applying and adapting the awarded entry to the desired dynamics of redevelopment of the former barracks. In the first phase, the plan is to initiate the process of developing an urban development plan that would implement all the successful elements of the winning entry. This initiates the process of transforming the space, creating a framework for new programs and design proposals. As the transformation process of this space is not only a physical transformation, but also an economic, sociological and demographic one, we want to implement it with the active participation of the public. This is the only way to ensure the successful implementation of the process.
