AWAKENING OF NEW ZAGREB[1]
Djivo Dražić, BArch
If we analyze the city in line with the teachings of Christian Norberg-Schulz, a somewhat neglected theorist, as an existential space in which its inhabitants satisfy all their living needs, then we could conclude that, when it comes to the city of Zagreb, the area of Novi Zagreb ("New Zagreb") seems to be destined to play the role of a big dormitory.
Lack of any other "content" apart from housing capacity has always been considered the biggest flaw of the district of Novi Zagreb, as opposed to the indisputable quality of a successfully planned housing district, constantly reaffirming its quality when compared to other housing districts in the city, not only historical, but also modern. Over time, the inhabitants of Novi Zagreb fully accepted their district, whose abundant vegetation and sun constitute clear advantages despite the shortage of urban content; however, the "City", in full sense of that word, always remained north of the banks of the SavaRiver.
Every urban space, according to Norberg-Schulz (who took over this analysis from K. Lynch), can be defined by three elements – "nodes" (locations), "paths" (axes), and "domains" (city districts). From its very foundation, the spatial organization of Novi Zagreb has been defined by the cross formed by two orthogonal axes – Dubrovnik Avenue and V. Holjevac Avenue (creating the so-called "topological axis" of Zagreb), along which the housing estates of Novi Zagreb are located.
If one wishes to enrich the existing urban structure by new substance without tampering with its very foundation, there are two ways to achieve this: by interpolating new "nodes" along the existing "paths" and/or by interpolating new "domains" in unbuilt space within the structure. Both of these approaches ought to result in an increase of urban density of the whole, increasing the "tension" between the newly established focal points of urban life, thus also increasing the dynamics of movement within the structure – all with the aim of turning a housing district into city space that would contain all important urban functions. We have been able to witness this process in the district of Novi Zagreb during the past thirty or so years; we have also been able to witness its substantial intensification in the past five to six years.
Lack of an articulated central area – the Center of Novi Zagreb – constituted a challenge for urban planners and architects practically from the very beginning; however, doubts regarding the location of that center on the intersection of two main axes never existed. Original studies and plans focused on the eastern perimeter of the Zagreb Fair – a completely logical choice, given the importance and the role of the Fair in the creation and development of Novi Zagreb. However, despite a number of competitions and projects, the city never gathered the will or the strength to actually build this center, despite it being so much needed. Instead, imperatives of daily life imposed the implementation of the simplest and economically most feasible method – interpolation of new complementary elements along the main longitudinal axis, Dubrovnik Avenue.
The process began towards the beginning of the 1980s via the competition for the complex of the Center for Catering, Hotel and Tourist Services (UHTOC) on the location of the current 4th Grammar School and the pool in Utrine. What followed a year after that, in 1983, was the competition for the Clinical Hospital of Novi Zagreb (KBNZ). The idea to shift a new, undoubtedly urban element into the previously untouched area along the Sava River in the westernmost outlying area of the city could have generated a powerful urban development drive focusing in that direction, had the hospital been completed. Project completion did in fact materialize, but only a quarter of a century later, with the construction of the sports Arena.
However, we did not have to wait long for the continuation of the process. In the period between 1986 and 1990, the southern perimeter of the Zagreb Fair opened towards Dubrovnik Avenue due to the construction of the new South Entrance and the building of the Federal Customs Authority, and due to the adaptation and completion of Pavilion 10; in the same period of time, substantial efforts were also invested in envisaging a new role for the Zagreb Fair and in integrating the Fair into the urban tissue. With this aim in mind, increasing attention began being paid to construction plans for the area along the eastern perimeter of the Zagreb Fair, including the space along V. Holjevac Avenue, north of the newly constructed office building of INA oil company. These plans resulted in the initiation of the competition for the World Trade Center (WTC) in 1990, which offered quality solutions in terms of reflection regarding the center of Novi Zagreb, or at least its western half. The competition process resulted in a study arising out of the compilation of two top-placed designs within the competition, and in efforts to find an interested investor. Several years later, in 1996, an additional study was prepared with a similar program in mind, but no longer affecting the space of the Fair. The result of this search for investors, despite several interesting offers, was similar as in prior attempts, i.e. unsuccessful.
When it comes to the developments in the meantime, we should mention the competition for the office building of Tempo company in 1990, on the corner of Dubrovnik Avenue and Avenue of the Republic of Germany (the current building of the Ministry of Finance), and an interesting project of the office building of the Lottery a bit more to the west, on the south side of Dubrovnik Avenue.
Understandably, planning and construction activities in the period between 1991 and 1996 decreased due to the war and its consequences; however, following the consolidation, interest in intervening in the structure of Novi Zagreb arose again, this time stemming from private capital. In 1998, invitation competition for the shopping center on the southwestern corner of the intersection of Dubrovnik Avenue and V. Holjevac Avenue was undertaken. As it turned out, this so-called "Heart of Novi Zagreb" would be built eight years later, under the modified program of the new investor, and named "Avenue Mall". Round about that time, preparation of the project for the Museum of Modern Art began as well, on the corner placed diagonally from the Avenue Mall shopping center, after long deliberations regarding the selection of the optimal location and a major competition that was conducted in 1999. The construction of the Museum of Modern Art was completed in 2010, which led to the establishment of another vital urban focus in addition to Avenue Mall in the center of Novi Zagreb – so much desired, but never truly fulfilled.
The period between 2000 and 2003 saw the design and construction of the headquarters of the Croatian Automobile Club (HAK), as well as the office building of HG-spot company on Dubrovnik Avenue near the eastern roundabout, and, several years later, the completion of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Utrine, which meant that the potential for interpolations in this part of Dubrovnik Avenue was exhausted.
Roughly in the same period, in 2006, the Zagreb Fair, the existence of which became questionable due to changes in geopolitical and economic realities in the region, was looking at ways in which the "old glory" of being one of the oldest and most important fairs in this part of Europe might be recovered. The Fair requested the preparation of study on the strategy of further development, as the foundation for the zoning and architectural competition that was to follow. The study looked at the possibility of constructing a completely new fair on the eastern part of the existing location, coupled with the transformation, conversion and integration of the remainder of the fair complex into the structure of Novi Zagreb, or – alternatively – full reconstruction of the existing constructed facilities, but in decreased scope. The study did not result in any further achievements, apart from subsequently serving to fuel ideas on further disintegration of the Fair complex.
The northern part of the Fair, along J. Antall Street, was increasingly turning into an area dedicated to recreation and sports, a logical development given its position oriented towards the SavaRiver (the area is used predominantly for recreation and sports purposes even today). In 2007, in the northwestern corner of the area, on the location of the existing football pitch, a project for a small city stadium for 15,000 spectators and football school was designed, and the preparations for the construction of the stadium started, as part of the solution to the problem of renovation of the main city stadium in Maksimir. However, considerable opposition to the planned investment in the completion of the Maksimir Stadium led to the decision to replace the originally planned small stadium with a big, city stadium. The competition organized to that effect, conducted in 2009, resulted in the selection of the best proposal in the form of the "Blue Volcano" stadium, the eruption of which would level to the ground the entire western half of the Zagreb Fair, introducing a completely new scale and spatial relations into the existing, fully formed matrix of Novi Zagreb.
During this time, the area of Središće-West was undergoing accelerated transformation as well, but not into the Center of Novi Zagreb – instead, it started shaping up as a new housing district, on the basis of the provisions of the Urban Development Plan which formed the matrix of eight cassettes organized within a symmetrical orthogonal structure. With the originally permitted height of mere five floors, which increased to nine floors with the subsequent changes to the plan, the opportunity was lost to create a "cluster" of skyscrapers in this space that would have undoubtedly enriched the characteristic skyline, thus contributing to the visual identity of Novi Zagreb as a "landmark" recognizable from afar. The area east of V. Holjevac Avenue also remained rather undefined in the Plan, which provided the opportunity to construct the "BundekCenter", a project whose purpose leaves little room for a confident conclusion that it optimally corresponds to the requirements posed by its prime location.
The last chance to construct a vertical accent on the intersection of Dubrovnik Avenue and V. Holjevac Avenue (which can be considered the center or "umbilicus" of the entire urban matrix of Novi Zagreb) was definitely lost with the competition program for the only remaining unbuilt corner of the locality – the southeast corner – which resulted in the project for the "Sopot Center".
The process of almost thirty years of completion and interpolation of new functional focal points along the most important avenues of Novi Zagreb resulted in the Arena Center and Avenue Mall as the only examples that arguably "awakened" the district of Novi Zagreb, and this process was completed towards the end of the first decade of the current century with projects for the Educational Complex Kajzerica and the project for the URIHO institution and the Center for Persons with Disabilities. A new (logical) phase began, characterized by increasing density of the existing urban structure, based on planned construction on new, previously unbuilt areas within it.
This is particularly true for the space west of the JadranBridge, where competition was initiated for UPUSavskiPark, Remetinec and Tromostovlje. The need to activate this space undoubtedly stemmed from generative forces that were created by the construction of the Arena and the development of Lanište area of the city, which pointed to the potential of this space and beyond, and also to the importance of Savska Street (a future skyscraper avenue, perhaps?) as the most importance entrance to the city from the southwest.
With the recent initiation of competition for SEECEL in Kajzerica area, this urban space with two already existing projects is also switching from individual focus into an area of public interest.
When it comes to urban planning in such areas, we should definitely mention the new housing estate Podbrežje. Once it is completed, it will be rather interesting to engage in comparisons looking at sixty years of concept development for housing estates of Novi Zagreb district, and to evaluate which typology has proven to be the most successful.
In addition, when it comes to the future, it is to be expected that spaces long ago reserved for greenery would merge into the system of public parks of Novi Zagreb, with the first step in this process undertaken via the initiation of competition for ŠpanskoGardens.
In the south, in Buzin area, one can notice the formation of a new area of urban interest, in the space south of the railroad yard, where the construction of a business park is planned in the vicinity of the Supernova shopping center.
Eastward development of Novi Zagreb is rendered impossible for the time being, at least until the final solution for the waste disposal site of Jakuševac is found; however, after the resolution of this issue, it is to be expected that Novi Zagreb would expand and urbanize in this direction as well.
However, in order to ensure top quality of the process of gradual "awakening" of Novi Zagreb, it would be necessary to simultaneously work on ensuring better transport links between various parts of the district, as well as better transport links between the entire Novi Zagreb with the part of the city north of the SavaRiver. In this context, the construction of at least two new bridges (Bundek and Jarun) is expected, together with the articulation and completion of Vatican Street and Sarajevo Street, and the extension of the tram line all the way to Lanište area; naturally, it would also be necessary to ensure quality public transport linking the new Zagreb Airport with the city center via the district of Novi Zagreb.
[1] Lecture given at The Third Zagreb Architecture Days, organized by Zagreb Society of Architects, Zagreb, 20–25 May, 2013