Ilija Srdanović
SYNTHESIS
The main topics within this assignment are concerned with designing a city center in the context of an old urban core and its conceptual, model, and typological research. Students are expected to work with dedication and apply all the knowledge acquired thus far in the course of their studies, but also to be creative and exhibit design courage and responsibility in finding new, modern approaches to the topic being covered. The final result should be expressed in the form of a developed architectural-urbanistic project that should be internationally recognizable, communicative, and clear in its content, meaning, and presentation, individual in its design, and supported by strong design attitudes, with a clear focus on creating project tasks and proactive strategies for the communities and those who live within them. The theoretical level of the project requires students to research both design and programmatic, as well as all other (sociological, historical, contextual, etc.) determinants defining a city block in an attempt to analyze and highlight its specific connection with the rich and layered architectural heritage of the old city core. One of the topics that arise here is the reconstruction, i.e., revitalization of the old city core and its repurposing to suit modern user needs. It is necessary to re-examine and analyze the characteristics of both the architectural-urbanistic and the social physiognomy of the future city block through its specific relationship with the environment and users. The practical part of the project includes examining the spatial, programmatic, and conceptual potentials of a site and preparing an architectural-urbanistic project for a smaller urban (business-residential) unit, a city block with combined residential and business functions. The design program is based on combining different typologies with the design evaluation of their contemporary conceptual, contextual, and model variations. The focus of analytical work in the Studio falls in the domain of examining the different spatial and programmatic architectural, urbanistic, and technological aspects of the project and their correlations in the new CITY CENTER. Regarding the program, besides the business-residential function, it is necessary to envisage a number of complementary activities, such as commerce, catering, recreation, etc.