The strategic location and the topography of the site, the unexpected sight of the sea from all points of the area have given rise to the idea of setting up a compact, powerful, conceptually, all based on counterslope. A place compact and not scattered, so recognizable. A place where every house could have a terrace from which to admire the view over the gulf. A hill renewed and rediscovered, a new Gebel Zghir (small mountain). This project that we are presenting has won the first prize at Europan 10 competition in Rijeka, Croatia.
Rijeka is a city in which settlements coexist quite low, with houses of 1/2 floors with gardens and terraces and tower blocks of 30 storeys. The effect of this coexistence is scenic and interesting: the first are rooted to the ground and bind to the green, the latter bind to the sky, the sight of sea and landscape around it.
In this context Ulica Lipa is a decidedly suburban place now, full of houses, with the presence of gardens, orchards and small and self-building cabanons for DIY. A district where strong is the link with the open space, all the houses have a terrace and the morphology of the terrain allows sighting the sea. However, the density required by the notice is definitely urban and main street (Osjecka Ulica) is busy and very important because it binds to the center.
Authors therefore decided to develop a site with different densities, each linked to a residential typology. In front of Osjecka Ulica, which is the most polluted and noisy part of the district, we develop tall buildings that will turn to the sky, while climbing the hill towards the park buildings were lost height and gained ratio with the soil.
The position of the lot is difficult but strategic: it is located on one of the main entrances to the city and its exposure can take advantage, thanks to the drop of a beautiful sea view of the gulf of Kvarner.
The idea is to create a residential complex which as a whole has to become a sort of landmark.
To do this authors decided to develop all the buildings until the same height (equivalent to 35 meters on Osjecka Ulica), irrespective of their altitudinal range, in order to create a kind of intervention that worked in counter-slope, creating an awesome and impressive, inspired by the Burri’s Cretto in Gibellina.
The masterplan
The residential intervention, however, need to be accompanied by a series of upgrading of the environment that surrounds him, first in the framework of trade on the west front of the area. The ideal connection with it will be possible thanks to the renovation of Osjecka Ulica that will necessarily take on the role of urban quality, to go slowly, more liveable and especially permeable. The proposed masterplan welcomes the existing intuition to create a new avenue for fast and heavy traffic on the western side of commercial development for the link between the city-center and the highway.
Because of the fact that the study area is enclosed between two green hills, authors thought about the commercial building should be low and covered with a public green plate as a hanging garden, linking the existing parks and residences on the hills with a pedestrian and cycling path which cross over Osjecka Ulica.
This will allow you to enter the project ideally located in the green, despite its proximity with the center of Rijeka.
The project as a whole and 4 different residential typologies.
The project involves the construction of a compact and coherent block, where plan reflects the proportions of different heights of the buildings: taller is a building, bigger is the space around it. The common denominator was always to try in every way to take advantage of the best kind of exposure and relationship with the surrounding, preferring, where possible, the view towards the sea. Each housing has terrace (on the ground or at 9th floor) with a panorama, with less interferences as possible. Gardens and terraces are natural extension of the houses to the outside. Facades to the other buildings are as blind as possible in order to seek the maximum privacy for each apartment.
project by:
ludens (Annamaria Prandi, Andrea Vescovini)
and Francesco Maracchioni
Posted by: Eva Prelovšek
