Slavija is a very important urban nod in Belgrade yet it is surrounded by a cacophony of disparate buildings offering no sense of space. It is an area which was heavily bombed in WWII and was never reconstructed.
Hetzel Design entered the Slavija Manjez competition with the goal to improve the urban composition by reconstructing one of Slavija’s major city blocks. Our solution opted for a meandering building shape, deviating from the street grid and pulling pedestrian traffic inside a series of courtyards. The building mass is cascading towards Slavija, forming an urban theater with rooftop gardens. The building facade facing Slavija is a portal, allowing the majority of new apartments a vista toward the St. Sava Cathedral.
An observation deck and a rooftop restaurant are introduced at the top building level facing the plaza. A green vortex structure at the corner acts as a primary focal point while enabling vertical circulation to the observation deck. It acts as an immersive tourist attraction (much like the Vessel at Hudson Yards in NYC), as well as a link between the old and the new architecture- it grows from an old, reconstructed corner building to support the new observation deck.