Winning Design to Transform Belgrade’s 1950’s Waterfront
We have won a design competition to creatively transform and preserve the iconic Hall 1, the historic principal exhibition hall of the Belgrade Fair complex dating from the 1950s.
Located in Serbia’s capital, overlooking the River Sava, the project regenerates the iconic 1950’s constructivist ‘Hall 1’ building; transforming it to a mixed-use destination incorporating three cultural venues, retail and a landscaped park.
Drawing on experience gleaned from destination projects including Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, and Battersea Power Station in London; WilkinsonEyre’s design centres on the concrete-domed Hall 1 which was constructed from 1954-1957 and has a significant span of 109m. As with the Power Station, the design includes a strategic programmatic mix designed to establish an economically sustainable infrastructure and consistent revenue stream for the future.
Our approach celebrates the building's unique architectural character and its clear span of 109m. The pre-stressed concrete dome, Europe's largest, provides an ideal canvas for a transformative “box-in-box” design approach. The building offers the opportunity to express the striking forms and functions of three individual venues with shared audience amenities, including an Opera Theatre, a smaller hall for spoken word performances and a flexible hall designed to fit a variety of uses. The remaining space will accommodate a variety of retail, food and beverage outfits around a central internal piazza, available for seasonal events.
“As a practice, we are really interested in reimagining our stock of modern or industrial heritage buildings in a way that retains their magic whilst also securing their financial longevity” said Sebastien Ricard, Director of WilkinsonEyre. “The transformation of this magnificent structure, which is so emblematic of 1950s design, offers huge opportunity to create something of lasting value for Belgrade.”
The design incorporates light-touch interventions to the existing building which respect and engage with its unique architectural characteristics - the drama of the exposed concrete soffit and the unusual circular nature of the building – without competing with them.
To achieve this, WilkinsonEyre have employed a ‘box-in-a-box’, detached from the main roof, to introduce new elements. Three venues – a lyric theatre, an opera theatre, and a flexible ‘black box’ theatre - will be surrounded by a flexible piazza at ground floor: Home to seasonal markets, events and pop-up stalls and providing 24/7 activation.
Retail, food & beverage offerings, and other amenity are arranged in a radial diagram at first and second floor; while the theatre ’roofs’ at third floor will offer opportunities for event spaces, restaurants and/or members clubs which will benefit from stunning views to the historic perforated concrete dome. These areas will be inter-connected by lightweight escalators, staircases, floating bridges, and walkways.
The building is the focus of a design which prioritises open park space and visual links between the building and the River Sava, a tributary to the Danube. A green linear axis culminates at one of the Hall’s two entrances, while a terraced arrangement offers accessibility. The landscaping’s flexible arrangement will be able to accommodate everyday amenity alongside a rich calendar of cultural events including markets, creative festivals, and community programming.
An outdoor amphitheatre looking to the river offers further opportunity for the year-round animation and activity, cementing Belgrade Waterfront as a premier destination in Serbia for the next 100 years.
