This project represents the idea for a new gallery, located near the confluence of rivers Sava and Danube, on the site of the Museum of Yugoslavia that has never been completed. Inspiration for the gallery came from both structural picture and historical context of place and content of future gallery.
Belgrade is the capital city of Serbia, and in previous 3 decades, it was the capital of three different countries. Rivers Sava and Danube separate Belgrade in two parts that are in contrast with each other. Old part is hilly, with narrow streets and old buildings, while Novi Beograd (New Belgrade) is flat, with wide boulevards and new skyscrapers. The location is set to be in Novi Beograd side, and first part was imitation of hilly old town geospatial topology. The idea is that the new landscape should be more dynamic and used as a park area, but also that each elevation hide one unit from gallery structure. That setting would imitate numerous fallout shelters that can be seen everyday in Novi Beograd, which remained from 90s wars in Yugoslavia. Pile foundations are main signature of Novi Beograd, because the whole area has poorly bearing soil, and it turned out to be the most cost effective solution. The foundation piles would continually stretch above the surface, and give more dynamic experience of the site, while also suggesting that there is something under landscape.
Historical context of the future gallery - In the early 70s, when the first idea of the museum of Yugoslavia came about, the idea was to show the country’s future as powerful, organized and united. After that, numerous wars, separations and destructions showed that the future was not so bright, and the idea of new gallery had to show completely different perspective. The gallery has to represent war history of 90s and how Belgrade changed from then until today. The idea is that object has to correspond with its content, and that is why abandoned fallout shelters from Novi Beograd were used as inspiration for the interior setting. Overground and underground structures are in contrast, and represent Belgrade’s structural and historical context - cheerful and appealing cover for brutal and formidable core.
Belgrade is the capital city of Serbia, and in previous 3 decades, it was the capital of three different countries. Rivers Sava and Danube separate Belgrade in two parts that are in contrast with each other. Old part is hilly, with narrow streets and old buildings, while Novi Beograd (New Belgrade) is flat, with wide boulevards and new skyscrapers. The location is set to be in Novi Beograd side, and first part was imitation of hilly old town geospatial topology. The idea is that the new landscape should be more dynamic and used as a park area, but also that each elevation hide one unit from gallery structure. That setting would imitate numerous fallout shelters that can be seen everyday in Novi Beograd, which remained from 90s wars in Yugoslavia. Pile foundations are main signature of Novi Beograd, because the whole area has poorly bearing soil, and it turned out to be the most cost effective solution. The foundation piles would continually stretch above the surface, and give more dynamic experience of the site, while also suggesting that there is something under landscape.
Historical context of the future gallery - In the early 70s, when the first idea of the museum of Yugoslavia came about, the idea was to show the country’s future as powerful, organized and united. After that, numerous wars, separations and destructions showed that the future was not so bright, and the idea of new gallery had to show completely different perspective. The gallery has to represent war history of 90s and how Belgrade changed from then until today. The idea is that object has to correspond with its content, and that is why abandoned fallout shelters from Novi Beograd were used as inspiration for the interior setting. Overground and underground structures are in contrast, and represent Belgrade’s structural and historical context - cheerful and appealing cover for brutal and formidable core.
