The Danube Quarter - a space meant for everyone Port of Belgrade - International Science and Research Park of Architecture THE NORTHERN GATES OF BELGRADE

Belgrade, Serbia - Crossroads of the world

The name Belgrade ("The White City”) comes from the white rock on which the city rests. It is the capital of Serbia and is located at the confluence of Sava and Danube rivers, on the border of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Belgrade is considered to be the oldest constantly inhabited city in Europe and the world. One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. Because of its historical and geographical significance, this area has always been the subject of conflict, which is reflected in the fact that the city has been battled over in 115 wars and razed 44 times, being bombed five times and besieged countless more. It can be said that this area has seen the dark side of human nature, which is why it never really had the opportunity for continuous development. Belgrade and its inhabitants are still here, but the consequences of all the negative actions throughout history can be seen on the people, buildings and institutions. Negativity, selfishness and greed have taken deep roots in the mentality of the people and it’s causing a lot of turmoil. In order to make any sort of changes in our ecosystem, first we must change the mentality of the people. As human beings we depend on each other to thrive and that is what everyone must understand in order to start the rehabilitation of a nation and its people.  For the reasons mentioned above, this master thesis sets before itself the task to design and conceive a space that is intended for everyone, a space where everyone is welcome, a space that represents the good side of this country and its people. The human civilization has reached a point in evolution, where armed conflict over territories has no meaning, but only harms the world and its people. It is true that great discoveries were made during wars and that some changed the course of the civilization, but just imagine how many people never had the opportunity to even think about discovering anything. This is why this master project is proposing a carefree place where anything is possible through a simple act of international cooperation and create a place of prosperity and healing.

 

International Navigation Corridor - The Great Danube River

A significant part of Serbian history is connected to the spectacular monument of nature, the Danube River, which represents the border between the East and West, it connects and separates countries. The Danube originates in Germany in the Black Forest by the confluence of the two rivers Berg and Brigach, then travels for 2850km to its end in the Black Sea. Danube is a river of great importance: it is an international navigable corridor that covers 10 countries in its basin, making it the river with most countries connected in the world, it flows through 99 cities of which 4 are capitals: Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and Bratislava. The Danube itself is huge and widespread, and when we add tributaries to that, the network becomes immeasurable, adding 9 more countries and 6 capitals: Bucharest, Sofia, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, and Pristina. Such an astonishing network of flowing water has always served the purpose of connecting nations, making trade and travel possible on a large scale. The metaphorical and literal connection of these countries is the point from which this master thesis drains its inspiration. This project aims to create and design a place where everyone would join together to change the world around us, to change the deep seeded hatred in the mentality of us all, to change our old way of life and make way for the wonders of the third millennium.

The Danube Riverfront in the City of Belgrade - The Port of Belgrade

Belgrade is one of the last European cities that has not revitalized industrial zones on the banks of its rivers. Industrial zones have developed along the river bank throughout history because they had access to water freight transport. Additionally, important factor would be the railway connection, which is the case in the Port of Belgrade. Only a third of the industrial zone that occupies the right bank of the Danube River is the port. The zone is 5km long, which creates a buffer zone between the center of Belgrade and the international river Danube. This zone deprives the city an enormous attribute, being on the banks of a world-class river. However, this was not always the case. Back in the day, these industrial zones were the main pillars of the city's economy and development. They were formed long before the city developed and came into contact and conflict with these zones. 

Today, the time has come for these industrial zones to be removed and to make space for projects that benefit all . Every industry is self-destructive, with constant progress and innovation, new ones are sought, while the old is forgotten and abandoned over time. For these reasons, we have such a phenomenon of abandoned industries in the city center. Abandoned industrial zones are a monument to a period of development that should not be forgotten: these areas have great potential if they are repurposed in adequate ways. In order not to be like our ancestors who tended to destroy historical parts of a city’s life story, we must think differently and allow evolution to happen in every possible way while preserving our past.

The Danube Quarter - International Science and Research Park of Architecture

This industrial zone on the riverbank covers an area of 3.5 km2, which is around 5km in length of the riverbank that none of Belgrade’s citizens have access to. Of that whole area, about a third would represent The Danube Quarter (shown on the map below). This area was selected because it has a significant number of buildings that have architectural heritage value. The project is based on revitalizing and renovating the entire area of the Port of Belgrade, which is 150 ha of open space with 200 000 m2 of storage space under a roof. 

This amount of space in the heart of Belgrade deserves to be utilized by the people for more significant purposes than residential buildings: this area has the potential to become a new cultural epicenter of the city and become the leader in social, cultural and economic growth. The idea is to preserve the industrial heritage through methods of conservation, such as adaptive reuse and revitalization, which will allow for the old architecture to be emphasized and given a new purpose. These methods will awaken the idea of building on the legacy of the people who lived before us, as opposed to destroying it outright. The Danube Quarter is a meeting place for all cultures, all races and all people. It is a place where theory meets practice, where art meets science, where natural meets synthetic and vice versa. This is a place of healing and prosperity, where people and their well-being are put first. The Danube Quarter will emphasize creativity and innovation, it will implement a completely different way of learning, education and cooperation. There will be a lot of different content and subjects, to attract as many different people as possible so that they may cooperate and thus heal the mistrust in each other, and pave the way for a new world. 

Another key factor is the sustainable and green approach to revitalizing this area, making it a green heaven while allowing for changes to happen because the needs of the people change with time, and so must the space that they are using. All the buildings will be renovated and adapted, but will have the ability and flexibility to change with the needs of the people that are using it, so that this space can serve the people of the now and the people of the future.  

An amazing factor that will contribute to the Danube Quarter will be two projects that will happen in the next couple of years, which are the renovation and expansion of the Danube Street and building the new Line Park in the place of the old railway, both of which are running along the whole border of the Danube Quarter. This will drastically increase the flow of people in this area and will make the perfect transition from a residential area to the cultural epicenter of Belgrade.

The Northern Gates of Belgrade 

Belgrade currently has two buildings that are on opposite sides of the city, the West and East Gates of Belgrade, that have been the symbols of Belgrade

 for the last 50 years and now a third symbol of the North will rise to the sky.

This building represents the first milestone of the Danube Quarter project, in its essence, it is conceived to be a high-tech flexible space that will belong to the people that live in Belgrade and will have the ability to automatically provide anything a person might need to occupy a space, for a small fee so it can slowly generate funds for the entire project. 

The building itself would be completely free of charge to enter and explore, that way it doesn’t belong to someone it belongs to everyone and can be used for everything, because with time, people and their needs change and so too must the spaces they occupy. In the left tower the emphasis is in the spectacle and social gathering while in the right tower it is education and practical work.

The construction of the building draws inspiration from bridge structures from around the world, that use high columns and cable suspension. This building is designed to have two high-rise reinforced concrete cores, that are connected at the top by a bridge like steel structure, which creates the frame form we can see in the side view. From this bridge structure at the top of the building are hanging steel cables that act like columns and hold each floor in their place. The floors are lightweight steel and concrete slabs that can be rearranged if needed. The facade of the building is glass panels that are also hanging on a separate cable system anchored to the concrete frame and connected to the floors for stability.