RESEARCH TO NARRATIVE
Part of the historic district is being knocked down to make way for the Belgrade Waterfront development, a joint project of Serbia’s government and the United Arab Emirates’ Eagle Hills, that will be the largest real estate development in the country. However, the project, which has a cost of €3.2bn, has met with resistance from residents as it will require the demolition of parts of downtown Belgrade. Questions have also been raised about the transparency of the project. Several thousand people protested in front of the Belgrade city assembly against the controversial demolition of buildings in the Savamala district of the Serbian capital. Large numbers of informal housing covered the block 18 near Splavovi. The direct environmental consequence observed was the partial destruction of the ecosystem on which the housing stands, the ‘wetland’. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink and shoreline stability. The population is still growing, and the growing construction of the housing will end up destroying their ecosystem entirely. From the picture besides, it has the symbolic meaning on the relationship between the goverment and civil society. Small organizations or insignificant people tend to be swallowed up or destroyed by those that are greater and more powerful. However, if all the small groups organized together, it’s still possible to defeat the greater fish. As a solution, I propose a new project, elevated above the ground, combining all the conflicts together to be a ‘big fish’ to confront the Belgrade waterfront project and make way for recover the wetland. To do so, it will be a transparent and permeable structure for the lower part, without disrupting the sun, air and water, which is the most necessary natural regeneration elements. Meanwhile, the upper part of the structure would provide habitability for the original residents and equal functions with splavovi.
PROGRAMING
CIRCULATION
FUNCTION
Scale 1:500
Scale 1:500
Scale 1:500
Scale 1:500
Scale 1:500
Scale 1:500
Scale 1:500
MARINA
PARKING LOTS
ART MUSEUM
RESIDENTIAL UNITS
RESTAURANTS
STAIRCASE
LANDSCAPE PLATFORM