What about the design competition? Sava Square the opinion of the profession and citizens is best expressed by the fact that only nine proposals appeared in the competition.
Like this architect Marko Jakšić for "Vreme" comments on the news that the first prize in the competition for the urban-architectural solution of the Sava square in Belgrade was won by the Russian architectural bureau "Jauza project".
Nine works were submitted to the international, survey, one-stage, anonymous competition.
The competition was conducted by the Urban Institute of Belgrade, and the client was the company Belgrade on water.
The first prize of 40.000 euros was awarded to the team of the "Jauza project" bureau from Russia, which, according to the jury, stood out as the most complete response to the complexity of the location and the design tasks set.
Jauza project/Belgrade waterfront/UrbelThe winning work at the competition for decorating Sava Square
Space stolen from Belgrade
"As far as I've seen, there was no professional association behind that competition. The ready-made solution was obtained, which is nothing more than average in terms of form and content elements. I assume that the other competition works are not better either. Since the competition received only nine works, and the first three winners were not from our country, it is obvious that the profession boycotted that competition, both in organization and implementation," says architect Marko Jakšić for "Vreme".
For him, such results of the competition are an obvious message from the citizens and the profession, what do they think about that competition and those who announced it, since with the spatial plan for Belgrade on the water "that space, among the most vital in the city, is stolen from Belgrade and destroyed".
He indicates that the space covered by the competition is the place of former platforms that were removed when the Railway Station was relocated.
He reminds that the Spatial Plan for Belgrade on the Water provided for that space to be joined with the existing semi-circular Sava square and to create a large circular square in the center of which the building of the former railway station would be located.
"Given that those who are building Belgrade on the water did not have enough space that was intended for residential, profitable construction, the basic sculler was removed from that space and then 'planted' on that square in the back of the building of the former railway station," says Jakšić.
Jauza project/Belgrade waterfront/UrbelThe winning work at the competition for decorating Sava Square
He points out that this is why the tender was announced for the resulting asymmetrical and disjointed space, for the rest of the square.
"The thing is that a huge space was sacrificed for Belgrade on the water and relentless commercial residential and business construction. One of the reasons why the urban solution of Belgrade on the water is bad is the lack of public spaces and content. Belgrade on the water is in deficit with parks, squares and other public spaces, so they had to make at least something that would resemble and remind of a city that has its own public spaces from what was left of the square behind the railway station," says Jakšić.
He is actually surprised that those who are building Belgrade on the water have used the entire part behind the former railway station for the construction of residential buildings.
Other awards and jury
The second prize in the amount of 20.000 euros was awarded to the author's team Shandong Hi-Speed International Planning & Design Company KFT, Belgrade branch, and the third in the amount of 10.000,00 euros to the work of the author LDA Design Consulting Ltd Benjamin Walker.
The members of the jury were: Marko Stojčić, chief urban planner of the city of Belgrade (president), Natalija Belić, representative of the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism, Stefan Obućina, representative of JKP Belgrade Metro and Train, Maja Joković Potkonjak, representative of the Urban Institute of Belgrade, Daliborka Stojaković, representative of Belgrade on Water.
Jauza project/Belgrade waterfront/UrbelThe winning work at the competition for decorating Sava Square
The competition was announced on June 8, and it is about the area of 1,78 hectares on which the platform platform of the railway station was once located, that is, the area between the former Main Railway Station and the back of the former Belgrade Bus Station, which was not part of the comprehensive reconstruction of the square that was carried out from September 2019 to January 2021.
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