Park B: The Solution For A Knowledge-Based Country?
A few days ago the results were announced for the long-awaited competition for the Borongaj Campus in Zagreb. The Park B entry by njiric+ arhitekti was selected as the first place winning solution. Although many claimed with certainty that the number of works would be arriving in droves thus upping the competition i.e. raising the bar for the best solution (the main reason for this line of thought being the current state in the profession being as it is, along with the fact that architectural and urban planning competitions have been few and far between in the past two years as opposed to the early 2000s), a mere 16 works were submitted for the competition. However, keeping in mind the sheer enormity of the undertaking, the program-wise demanding task at hand, as well as the slightly clumsily set submission dates (smack dab in the middle of Christmas and New Year’s holidays), the seemingly fewer submitted works doesn’t come as that big of a surprise, especially if we keep in mind that every competition should aim for quality regardless of the number of entries.
As you’ll surely notice, among the winning and other awarded entries some of the most prominent Croatian architectural practices have been selected so we have no qualms whatsoever in view of the works’ quality. We’re only concerned about the realistic fact that it’s election year where citizens are being lured in with promises, pictures and slogans that are never (and not even then) made good on (as we’ve witnessed time and time again).
The capital proudly and prominently features, yet still self-names it as “a knowledge-based country” with Zagreb’s capacity and scope of university content, nevertheless pointing out a dire need for the Borongaj Campus. However, only time will tell whether or not the award-winning solution will ever come to pass.
Tomorrow on January 28th you’ll have the opportunity to hear and see the aforementioned pictures and slogans, and most certainly promises of the sun and the moon, at the press conference set to be held at 10:30 AM in the Aula Magna of the University of Zagreb Rectorate. As per the announcement, in addition to the University of Zagreb Rector, Professor Aleksa Bijeliš, Ph.D., and the Vice-Rector Bojan Baletić, representatives of the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and the City of Zagreb will also be in attendance. The Park B Project, i.e. the first-prize winner will be presented to the press by Professor Hrvoje Njirić.
Scroll down to view the top-awarded works, while more details on the other awarded works, the competition itself and detailed overviews of the solutions are available here.
1st award
author: njiric+ arhitekti d.o.o.
(prof. Hrvoje Njirić, David Kabalin, Ljiljana Besednik, Nikola Fabijanić, Iva Baljkas, Sanjin Sabljak, Jure Bešlić)
*you can download the complete winning work by clicking on the reduced posters below, while you can click here for the list of associates of the njiric+ architects competition work along with the other awarded teams
2nd award
author: 3LHD
(Saša Begović, Marko Dabrović, Tatjana Grozdanić Begović, Silvije Novak, Eugen Popović, Leon Lazaneo, Anna Kocsis, Krunoslav Szorsen)
You can click here to view the complete materials of the first runner-up, along with the list of associates on the 3LHD competition work
3rd award
autor: Arhitektonski Atelier Hržić d.o.o.
(prof.dr.sc Marijan Hržić, Maja Bakalar, Ivan Frleta-Valić, Jasenka Galović, Andrea Hržić-Šesnić, Iva Jerković, Dragana Knezović, Branko Palić, Žana Radetić, Marko Šesnić)
You can click here to view the complete materials of the first runner-up, along with the list of associates on the 3LHD competition work.
three equal-value purchases
one of three equal-value purchases
author: HPNJ+
(Helena Paver Njirić, Jelena Botteri, Hrvoje Sedlić, Miro Roman)
one of three equal-value purchases
author: URBANE TEHNIKE
(Hrvoje Bakran, Zdravko Krasić, Borislav Doklestić, Dražen Plevko, Ivana Planinić, Mislav Deželić, Bojana Marčićev, Dunja Naerlović)
one of three equal-value purchases
author: Vedran Duplančić
Photographs and materials: DAZ
