Faza: projekt konkursowy, półfinał konkursu 2021r.

Zespół autorski: Ewelina Siestrzewitowska, Mateusz Gierszon, Antoni Surowiak, Karolina Marciniak, Aleksandra Warowna

dodatkowe: dostosowanie placu na zmiany klimatu: retencja wodna, wzrost powierzchni biologicznie czynnej, nowe nasadzenia, bioróżnorodność

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PROBLEMS OF THE SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA:

1. TOWN PLANNING:

– No clear signal in the space where the stations are located (communication hub) (lack of the alley or square)

– The space in front of the stations has irregular, undefined boundaries, it is neither the square nor the street,

– Lack of greenery

– Lack of character and coherence of the place. A traveler getting off the train and bus stations finds himself in a space without character.

– Monofunctional buildings at Orahovačka Street

2. COMMUNICATION:

– Excess of communication space,

– Messy parking system,

– No clearly defined pedestrian walkways,

– No clearly defined rail-bus-public transport hub

3. ARCHITECTURE:

– Housing development of Orahovačka Street seems chaotic and has low aesthetic quality but on the other hand it is distinctive in its scale and beauty

– Chaotic elevation of the train station

– Unaesthetic facade of the building on 14 Mitar Bakić Street

MAIN IDEA

The main idea of the project, which in one move solves many of the problems mentioned above, is the idea of creating MONTENEGRO GARDENS – GATES TO THE CITY in the front of the train and bus stations:

– it is assumed that on both sides of the bus station greenery characteristic for Montenegro will be planted: trees, grasses and shrubs. At the same time, bearing in mind the communicative function of the place, a large square with unsealed limestone tiles around the greenery was designed in the middle, allowing free movement throughout the whole area.

This way of designing the square enables setting a large amount of biologically active surface and plants without reducing the functionality of the square.

Thanks to the above idea, the following – previously defined – problems are possible to solve:

1. TOWN PLANNING:

– lot of greenery

– thanks to the walls of greenery and a zone of new buildings the the site (both the square and the alleys) is clearly defined. Thoughtfully arranged greenery allows to define the boundaries of the square without excessive building up the area

– thanks to the clear space-defining decision of using a large amount of greenery, along with other exertions, the space in front of the station gets the nature of a garden, very unusual in this type of function. It becomes a characteristic space, because its arrangement is unusual and because the selection of local and characteristic plants for Montenegro may ‘advertise’ the beauty of this particular place.

2. COMMUNICATION:

– using a large amount of greenery and removal parking system from the square to the underground allows to completely change the character of the place: from an bus terminus into a garden

– greenery clearly defines paths, squares and streets.

3. ARCHITECTURAL:

– greenery applied in front of the railway station, a vertical garden designed on the facade of the building at 14 Mitar Bakić Street and the clock tower neutralize the unaesthetic facade of the building that appears on the viewing axis of travelers leaving the train station

URBAN IDEA:

– The main urban idea is to clearly define the square in front of the station, give it boundaries and appropriate architectural setting with its elegant and modern expression, but referring to the existing buildings in their scale.

– At the same time, from the space of the main square the user was supposed to see two more free spaces related to the character of the existing residential buildings: a sub-square with a market, surrounded by the existing buildings and a pedestrian lane towards the city center with new buildings, but designed in more free layout. The traveler is therefore welcomed by modern, elegant and local architecture, as a gateway to free and somehowe lax housing developments.

– Thanks to the use of a significant amount of greenery, the square in front of the bus station will be clearly defined.  It will be also supported by new zone of buildings with a scale, material and character corresponding to the buildings on Orahovačka Street, but in a modern style. Thanks to designing a market hall, the existing square will become smaller and get character of the sub-square of the main space.

As a result of aforementioned decisions, the traveler sees defined spaces and clear paths after leaving the train and bus station.

New development creates a frontage in a place where existing buildings cannot create it. It is also designed in a way allowing to reveal the view of the railway office building from the side of the square (by breaking the facade of the building closest to the railway station).

New buildings also allow for the creation of a new pedestrian street leading towards the city center, which refers to the residential buildings and the Jusovača prison with its character and scale.

The clock tower and the new corner service building/boutique hotel are important from the urban point of view because they inform about the fact that turning from Mitar Bakić Boulevard one finds the special place – the communication hub and a new district of creative technologies. The same informative purpose guided the decision to apply a limestone floor on the roadways of Mitar Bakić Boulevard and to locate there additional lines of trees. All these solutions are meant to integrate the communication hub with the street leading to the city center.

Using one type of limestone tile in one module of 60×60 cm on the entire designed area allows to integrate various spaces and emphasize a special place – a monument that has been pushed to the side until now. Without changing its location, just by changing the direction of the floor joints, creating a small square in front of it and emphasizing the place by the clock tower, the monument is given the importance it deserves.

Town planning procedures that have been used assume leaving the existing buildings at Orahovačka Street in its current form due to the unacceptably high social costs that would be associated with its demolition, but also due to its characteristic and interesting scale and urban layout. The project assumes admitting new service or residential development in this area up to a height of 2 floors with an attic and with services on the ground floors in order to increase the functional mix of the area and create a more attractive space. It is planned to promote and support crafts, arts, local and ecological food production in this area, create services for the new creative center in Jusovača prison and premises offering modern office space with character.

For the above mentioned reasons, introduction of commercial space under the square was abandoned. Underground premises have lower standard, are less frequently visited by users and more expensive to build than above-ground spaces. Therefore, there have been designed a number of buildings and service premises in new buildings and it is assumed that pressure will be put on the construction of new buildings or service premises in the existing buildings, because no underground premises will be constructed.

ARCHITECTURAL IDEA:

The choice of materials and architectural form of the square flooring and the newly designed buildings is aimed at organizing and calming the aesthetics of the area.

A white limestone tile of the same modulus was used throughout the whole area, changed only in characteristic places (change of the direction of the joints at the monument place, change of the color of the limestone in the pattern of fountain referring to the Podgorica coat of arms).

All new buildings are made of white limestone, the same as the square and some of the existing buildings – referring to the local building tradition, but in a modern form, corresponding to the new plans for this part of the city and referring to the modernist buildings of both stations. New buildings at the railway station simply repeat the characteristic rhythm of the concrete grate of the station. The same grate was used to unify the chaotic facade of the station buildings. The new grate is to be used as a frame for plants – in the MONTENEGRO GARDEN.

The market also has the same character, with a complex of walls with vaulted openings, referring to traditional architecture; it is connected with steel mesh vaults on which plants climb.

All limestone tiles are arranged in a 60x60cm module, but this does not mean that they are all of this size. Smaller tiles arranged in this module create unsealing of the floor where the most important elements of the design: trees, shrubs and grasses grow. The use of such ‘pixel’ aesthetics also makes possible to refer to the winning design of the Republic Square and a chance to create a consistent style across the city.

Within the projected area two fountains are planned:

1. Larger, in the main space of the square, designed in the form of a flooring lowering, is made of limestone in two colors, creating a pattern referring to the coat of arms of Podgorica. This pattern extends to the square beyond the fountain and shows the distances between Podgorica and other European capital cities. The use of a coat of arms in a fountain has two purposes: the form of the fountain and the surface of the water create a ‘shield’ for the coat of arms pattern, keep the coat of arms pattern clean and increases the contrasts between the colors of the limestones used, which enhances the perception of the pattern.

The fountain is equipped with uplights and sprinklers. The depth of the fountain is 8 cm, what makes possible to use this part as a square floor after it is turned off.

2. A smaller, designed in the form of a sloping floor was made of limestone. The fountain is equipped with uplights and sprinklers. The depth of the fountain is 8 cm, which makes it possible to use this part as a square floor after it is turned off. This fountain has a more intimate character, trees and seats have been designed around it, as well as spaces for outdoor cafe gardens.

The lighting of the square is designed in the form of uplights with a spacing of 240×240 cm, complemented by lighting stretched between the buildings.

THE IDEA OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

It is assumed that traffic in the area of the square will be radically reduced:

1.     Construction of a two-story underground garage with the entry from Bakić Street in both directions, and with the exit to Mandić Street in the southern side. The aim of the south orientation of the garage exit, is to decrease a vehicle traffic in the residential district of Orahovačka Street.

2.     Bakić Boulevard: in the location of the crossrads with the designed square, the boulevard is narrowed down to the one driving lane in every direction.

– heading south:

the dual carriageway road is divided into a road turning to the square (dedicated for buses, taxis and cars dropping people off at the station), as well as a road towards the south with the possibility of access to the underground garage. This solution gives an easy approach to the station without traffic jams.

– heading north:

the dual carriageway road is divided into a road going straight ahead, as well as a road turning to the underground garage and a road for coaches to join the traffic.

Narrowing down the road reduces the traffic without reducing its capacity, because Oktobarske Revolucije Street has only one road towards the center.

3.     lifting the intersection of Bakić Street and the square to the level of square, implementation of the new additional pedestrian crossings, tree plantings and the usage of new pavement in the way that its geometry, material and general character exact from drivers more attention and speed reduction.

4.     A one-way road, in the area of the square, intended only for buses, taxis and cars dropping people off at the station (kiss and ride). Golootočkih Žrtava Square, Mandić Street and Bakić Boulevard take over the function of bus terminus.

5.     The residential zone in the entire designed area, with an exception for pedestrian traffic zones.

6.     An additional exit from the bus station in order to partially relieve the intersection of Bakić Street and the square.

It is also assumed to design a functional communication hub through:

1.     Construction of a covered bus stop with an info point located between stations in the closest distance from them in order to facilitate transfers. What is more, the shape is emphasized by a frosted glass turret, which covers the garage’s ventilation exhaust system.

2.     Construction of a comfortable entrance (escalator) to the underground garages located between the bus station and the bus stop in a way enabling the visitor to see both stations just after leaving the garages.

3.     Defining visible paths between stations – transfer facilitation.

4.     Shaping of the greenery on the eastern side of the station in a way that visitor sitting in the gardens has possibility to observe the approaching buses.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The idea of sustainable development and sustainable design have been incorporated to the project on several levels:

1. Energy efficiency and respect for resources:

– air heat pumps with a ground heat exchanger (lower heat/cooling source) and photovoltaic panels (building and heat pump service) were used for heating and cooling buildings

– the use of flat green roofs increases local water retention and reduces the problem of overheating of buildings

– the form of the building with external shading elements and deep-set windows reduce the problem of overheating buildings

– local food production and a market shorten the supply chain and energy consumption in the food production process

– the project involves the demolition of only one building, so there is no problem of producing a significant amount of construction waste or wasting existing resources,

– as part of the project, LED lighting was used in the flooring and as lighting between the buildings. Low light source enables the use of less energy-consuming solutions.

2. Climate change:

– rainwater is retained within the square by means of rainwater installations and a clock tower and collected in underground reservoirs

– the location of the fountains increases the air humidity in the square and reduces the urban heat island

– the use of a large amount of biologically active surface, trees and shrubs, increases local water retention and reduces the urban heat island

– the use of shading canopies reduces the urban heat island

– the project involves leaving a layer of soil above the underground garage in order to carry out the installation without the need for their complications, the possibility of planting trees and shrubs, partial restoration of local water retention in the garage

– the project involves replanting 11 trees

3. Sustainable society:

– the project involves the use of local materials and cooperation with local companies and craftsmen

– the project refers to the local scale, town planning and architecture

– the project assumes support for the development of jobs in housing development: food production, craftsmanship, services for office workers in Jusovača prison and in newly designed buildings

– the project involves the construction of a market – a place for individual trade of locally produced food, crafts and art

– the project assumes the preservation of all residential houses and a slow and multi-stage process of changes in the residential area acceptable to current residents

– the project is economically sustainable, it involves cooperation with private entities

– the project involves the construction of gardens with shadowy roofs, fountains and attractive space as a free space for recreation, meetings and waiting for a transfer.

– the new buildings are designed as a functional mix

PROJECT ECONOMICS

The presented project is economically sustainable:

1. It is assumed that the expensive to build underground cubature will be built only to the extent necessary for the functioning of the project: underground garages, toilets and a transformer station.

2. Underground service buildings are not designed to be more expensive and less user-friendly than above-ground buildings

3. There are no plans to buy out and demolish residential buildings

4. The earth layer is designed to run the technical infrastructure without the need to complicate it or introduce elements such as pumping stations

5. Solutions are being designed to economically revitalize the areas of housing development (the appearance of commercial premises and the revitalization of the square and the abandonment of underground service premises should trigger the creation of buildings and service premises in residential areas. New housing development, market, communication hub and the possibility of organizing festivals should increase the number of people staying in this part of the city – customers of shops, cafes and other services)