GENERIC RADICALISMAs one of the Unesco’s Registration
Criteria declares, the city of Dubrovnik “illustrates the willingness to create
a urban landscape conceived like a work of art”[1].
Despite
a major earthquake in 1664 and serious war damage in 1991, Dubrovnikmanaged all along to preserve its medieval fortress and its beautiful
Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains.
The planning of the city, also named the
“Pearl of the Adriatic”, has been rigorous and exceptional from its foundation
and throughout history. The regular road layout and the narrow streets follow
an urban planning which dates from the 13th century and, nowadays,
“this homogeneity in the quality of the built form is [still considered] without
equal elsewhere”[2].
Built on the foundations of its rich
cultural heritage, Dubrovnik is located in a fast developing region and its
popularity as one of the most outstanding tourist destination on the Adriatic
is increasing but, despite the favourable economic impacts, disadvantageous
effects of the pedestrian and the motor traffic on its natural and cultural
structure has made local government aware of the need for a new urban planning
and management for this city of 45.000 inhabitants and thousands cars.
The LOKOMOTIV.archs
project is an ambitious proposal of a footbridge/skyway
enclosed glass and steel erected from the old port, over the coast area, to a
new auditorium built on the eastern part of the “behind the city” area.
This
project aspire not only to solve the main inconveniences the inhabitants are
confronted to, but it also introduces a touch of radical modernism in a city
which crossed centuries preserving its heritage and, in the meanwhile, showing
the exigency of enjoying a contemporary environment.
The port base of glass and steel skywalk would be the
waves breaking artificial structure at the top of which would be placed a
rectangular sea port tower control built along an axis in line with the Stradun, the central street of old
Dubrovnik. The quay along the port would be squared.
The 3 floors skywalk would be 350 m length, 15 m width
and it would be 15
meters suspended on the sea level. The other base would be placed at the
southeaster area of Ploče, on a new auditorium of 800 seats for conferences and symposiums.
The skywalk’s transparency allows admiring the old
port and the city within the walls creating a perfect fusion with the stretch
of seawater. In the meanwhile, this eco-friendly construction would allow
taking advantages of the over 240 days of sunshine that characterized the
region and it would recreate the panoramic function of the cableway.
The building would link the port with Ploče
and a new underground space throughout a skywalk inside of which are planned
several shops and cultural areas.
On the northeaster area adjacent to the
auditorium a new urban park and a residential and commercial area,
characterized by a terrace structure, would be built and the current parking
places would be removed and replaced by a new great underground parking for at
least 1000 cars.
The parking would have three gates, which,
as a natural extension of the main roads, would allow the decongestion of the
traffic pointed toward the area.
The purposed footbridge structure is not only a
comfortable link between the main areas of interest, the old port and the new residential and commercial
area, but it also becomes a meeting point for
inhabitants and tourist and it can
be used as a generic space for shops and other commercial or cultural spaces
offering also a smart solution to the property price problem.
The area surrounding the old city walls, after the
removal of the existing surface parking space, can be used as an open-space for
temporary events while the residential terrace buildings offers a view to the
old town.
The underground great
parking garage aimed at an aesthetic separation of the pedestrian traffic and
the motor traffic
allows also eliminating permanently the traffic congestion hat the recent
parking rules have only partially solved.
The LOKOMOTIV.arch glass
structure and the entire underground project co-exist with the rest of the site
respectful of its historical structures protection necessity and of the new
population needs.
[1] www.ovpm.org/en/croatia/dubrovnik
[2] Ibidem
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