Location: “Tsarigradsko Shousse” Blvd, Sofia, Bulgaria
Area: 65 ha
Programme: Government centre, offices, hotels, residences, sporting facilities, education establishments, exhibition centre, parking lots
Participants: “Dominique Perrault Architects”, “Foster + Partners”, “ADAIS Project” consortium with leading architect of the project arch. D. Dimitrov, “Zaha Hadid Architects”, “Massimiliano Fuksas architects”, and “Obedinenie G-3” with leading architect of the project arch. G. Stoilov
Contest panel
The contest was won by “Dominique Perrault Architects”. Our project was ranked third, right after the project by “Foster + Partners”.
“This project is a strategy for urban development. It is not an architectural project; in fact architecture is a mean for creating territory with its specific landscape.”
arch. Dominique Perrault
“The galaxy which has two spirals, that galaxy has the perfect composition for me – millions of particles, planets, and star systems rotate in a single organization. The same was supposed to manifest in this secondary centre.“
arch. Dimitar Dimitrov
• Further development of the green system of the city in the new urban structure, connection with “Vartopo” park, “Darvenishka” river, and “Slatinska” river, opening of a visual and climatic connection to “Vitosha” natural park;
• Connection and development of a modern level non-conflict transport-communication system, incl. fast “tube” type communication: airport – secondary centre – main city centre; internal transport connections: shuttle, moving sidewalks, bicycle and pedestrian lanes, and saturated with activities overpasses across “Tsarigradsko Shousse” Blvd and across “Asen Yordanov” Blvd;
• Connection and development of engineering-technical infrastructure, active introduction of reusable energy sources and energy-saving technologies.
In the centre of the diagonal composition west – east is the main city square with partial covering. The square is flanked from the west with the dominant of the dynamic composition – the Government centre. Along the main composition axis are situated the Centre for Knowledge, transfusing into the attractive part of the Central Park and the sporting area. In a plastic aspect, the volumes of the Centre for Knowledge together with the Government centre are defined together in a common composition – “movement”.
From the north and south of the main square are the residential buildings with heights from 3 to 10 storeys. In the north western area are situated the high category hotels overlooking “Asen Yordanov” Blvd. (5 to 12 storeys). From the south, the square is flanked by the area of the office buildings (5 to 12 storeys), in a smooth composition and increasing height, opposite of the direction of the buildings on the north side.
The Central Park runs through the city square and overflows into its attractive part – east of the Centre for Knowledge, and then into the sporting area.
The diagonal positioning of the composition relative to the primary street network allows perceiving in perspective, which additionally strengthens the plastic and artistic result of the concept. Such a solution helps maintain an active life in the urban structure in both the bright and the dark part of the day.
The multifunctional complex is scenically fenced from the surrounding boulevards by a buffer zone of high-rise arboreal vegetation.