THE CONCEPT:
Primary objective of the proposed design is to provide a pedestrian-friendly area with a diversity of public spaces and enjoyable ambients dedicated to cultural activities and entertainment.
Parting from the rich historical legacy of the site and city of Belgrade in general, our architectural design of Beton Hala Waterfront Center was inspired by the story and spatial features of lagumi, traditional places with high flexibility in use and just enough mystery to constantly intrigue the imagination of both Belgrade's residents and visitors. Our architectural structure is conceived as a single landscape building constituted of a series of alternately divided and connected stripes: inclined surfaces create an artificial hill, an extension of the Belgrade fortress’ slope, which starts from the roof of Beton Hala and finishes at the Sava River Promenade. The inclined stripes provide the new pedestrian connections between the riverside and the Kalemegdan Park, while the flat parts of the roof surfaces create a continuous promenade parallel to Beton Hala, with accesses from Karadjordjeva Street and riverside. All roof surfaces are designed as intensive green roofs, as spaces for leisure, relaxation and contemplation with visual contacts towards the rivers, fortress and New Belgrade. The building is designed in such manner so as to change the landscape appearance as little as possible: it respects all important views of the Beton Hala and Kalemegdan while at the same time it transforms the potentials of the site into a memorable and recognizable architecture. What is more, the structure evolves into a surprise on the given site, since its interior organization can be only anticipated from the outside. Similarly to the characteristics of the lagumi, only after entering the building does a person comprehend the wholeness of the inner fluent, cave like, space. The concept of the building lies in desire to create a XXI century lagum – the city’s ‘cultural storage’ of new ideas, creativity and positive energy.
 

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS:
The interior of the building is divided into two main areas designated to exhibition and commercial space, while further partition of the space into distinct ambients is achieved by gardens, allowing the nature and landscape of the site to enter deeply into the building. The design of different shapes and inclinations of the stripes permitted insertion of the gallery level and in general, formation of the variety of spaces, differing in height and character, contributing to the altogether flexibility of spatial organization. Main entrances are provided firstly, from the Beton Hala roof terrace, to which access is assured by three communication nodes from the inside of Beton Hala and secondly, from Karadjordjeva Street, where the covered piazza serves as a place for gatherings and a meeting point. Furthermore, from Karadjordjeva Street the ramp allows access to the roof promenade and also to a roof piazza which can be easily used as a landmark, especially for the people arriving from the port. 

 

COMMUNICATION – TRAFFIC AND CONNECTIONS:With reference to the current site conditions and competition requirements, the intention of our design was to achieve the balance between different modes of usage and access to the area through the distinctive separation of road traffic, public transportation and pedestrian routes. The primacy is given to the pedestrian approaches, by creation of several points of arrival (bridges) from the Belgrade fortress, specifically Sava River Promenade, and by creating accesses from the path along the river and Karadjordjeva street (especially in connection with the Grand Steps Street). Additionally, in general urban plan of the location, wide pedestrian street has been designed along the Vojvode Bojovica Boulevard, on the side of the fortress. The tram route has been separated from road traffic by designing the tunnel which uses the height difference between the Karadjordjeva Street at the beginning of the site and Beton Hala and Pariska Street. Similarly, the impact of the road traffic is minimized by the use of bridge connections for pedestrian paths and different levels between the traffic street and for example the level of the covered piazza.
 

STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND MATERIALS USED:
The building is materialized in four elements: concrete, glass, light and greenery. The structure is designed as a system of continual concrete frames, shaped in such manner to support the concept of the cave and allowing the creation of open spaces in the inside of the building.