Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2021

Together with the rapid pace of new territories industrialization and urbanization there is a need to create unique places that can act as "communicators" for the local citizens. Parks and reserves are not only small ecosystems among concrete streets, but also unique living structures in the urban context, which perform a number of different functions: aesthetic, recreational, educational, sports etc. Green areas in the structure of the city are like landmarks that indicate about where you can stay together with nature or where u are able to relax after long everyday routine. These places are intended for first meetings, last farewells, evening walks, meditation, fun, art, exchange of ideas, renewal of internal resources and care for the body.

Creation of one park is a very important stage in the life of the city, while this process has a direct impact on both residents and the overall urban situation. Thus, park areas are able to form new life scenarios for either the territory or people.. Therefore, for the architect as a screenwriter the idea of creating a landscape architectural project of such space along the Boulevard of the Serbian Army in Banja Luka sounds like an interesting and difficult challenge.

Our main task was to integrate the green oasis into the structure of the city and form the space in one way to unite the surrounding area into a single urban node and create a new element of functional and high-quality design. The aim was to create a spatial structure which can be a text that tells messages about the place with sports, recreation, culture, art and leisure. Parks can be places where ideas and emotions are exchanged in order to develop and renew all the local flavor. While parks have a specific character as living structures in the urban context, they are kind of necessity for people and are considered to be a kind of message about our times for modern and future generations. Unfortunatelly, the city really loses its identity without them.

Therefore, together with the design of new zones, we tried to create a basis for the functional formation of the natural characteristics of Banja Luka space and creation of the unique place identity. We decided to become film directors and focus on the idea of interpreting the script using the language of landscape elements. Creating a dialogue between flora and the city throughout the art of architecture. Making the space attractive and recognizable, important and even necessary. Ensure that the anatomy of a place metaphorically expresses the nature and interrelationships of its contents. This was very important.

 If you look at the structure of Banja Luka from a bird's eye view, you can see a large green dragon that stretches along the Boulevard of the Serbian Army and seems to protect the city from the range of pastel colors. He sleeps soundly and breathes deeply, and his bulky back, covered with greenish thickets, allows the inhabitants of the city to breathe freely. The long woolen body is covered with many spots, each of which is unique. Thus, the developed park is a kind of system with different branches that interact with each other through the developed internal communications and enter into a kind of symbiosis with the internal flora. It integrates a set of different functions that can be chosen depending on personal preferences.

A SPOT is a zone. They are scattered all over the back and united into a strong symbiotic structure through communications. When a visitor enters an urban oasis, a whole quest opens up in front of him, or a whole enlarged map of a board game that you can walk on with your own feet. You can start with a walk on the bridge over the city stream and reach the barbecue area with wooden houses. Or run to the playground and, immersed in childhood, once again test the swing for stability. Here we have handy promenade with miscanthus planted along a winding path. It is a quiet flowing space, combined with a garden of fruit trees planted with symmetrical mesh and quiet ponds (filled with rainwater), where you can relax. If you suddenly have a desire to return to adolescence, then the next recreation area for students is waiting behind the trees. It`s the place for a break between lessons and read one of Shakespeare's works, hidden in a park bookstore.

It`s louder on the other side of the park: an active public space for street fairs, gatherings, loud rallies and concerts. The large green area aside is created specifically for pets: dog trainers, walking areas and active jogging with a ball.

Here cyclists and skaters ride on the dragon's back. You can choose romantic winding bike paths or a more extreme area for jumping and making stunts on the bike. The sports area, in addition to that, is equipped with two basketball courts. There is a playing area for children with a wooden playground for fun adventures. The zone above is resting place for parents and other visitors. It`s a little space with greenery, that appears between the light gravel paths.

It is also important to emphasize the peculiarities of the park green structure formation. These are the unity and proportionality of the constituent elements and the landscape as a whole, decorative architectural forms, color and scale ratio of plant groups included in the composition, as well as individual trees, patterns of lines and perspective, light and shadow ratio, composition methods, balance and the context itself. We tried to preserve the current green fund as much as possible and to reorganize the design space with minimal interference.

In the process of design, we aimed at the idea of using the "green smart concept" and modern technological solutions, so all the reservoirs of the complex are filled by melt rainwater.