Goli Otok Victims Square in Podgorica — competition concept

Description

The competition concept for Goli Otok Victims Square in Podgorica, developed under the motto “Montenegro Gardens — Gates to the City”, covers over 21,300 m² in front of the railway and bus stations of Montenegro’s capital. The guiding idea is to frame a large, uniform limestone-paved square with strips of greenery on both sides of the bus station, clearly defining its edges without building over its interior. The new buildings are of white limestone, echoing both local tradition and modernist station aesthetics; the existing station’s façade is complemented by a concrete grid. The market consists of walls with vaulted openings and steel mesh for climbers meant to green them over time. The programme also includes a clock tower, a corner service building with a boutique hotel, a covered bus stop with an information point and a two-level underground car park entered from Mitar Bakić Boulevard and exited onto Mandić Street. The paving follows a repeating stone module, the fountain’s pattern refers to Podgorica’s coat of arms and gives distances to European capitals, and shallow water basins invite everyday use. Nearly 200 new trees are planted, with existing ones retained and transplanted. Environmental solutions include ground-source heat pumps, photovoltaics, green roofs and rainwater retention in underground tanks.