@article{
author = "Vujičić, Dragan and Skočajić, Dejan and Tutundžić, Andreja and Bobić, Aleksandar and Pavlović, Nada and Popović, Ivana",
year = "2005",
abstract = "The contribution provides the description of a school project initiated by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the City of Belgrade and jointly realized by students of the faculties of Architecture, Forestry and Philosophy. The Institute's idea of enhancing the accessibility and appreciation of an area such as Topčider - virtually possessing all the character of a respectable public good, but failing to make itself felt as the city's integral and active part - met with appreciation i the City Council Secretariat for Culture, which funded the project. It was with pleasure and enthusiasm that professors and students set out to try their hand at a revitalization project for this cultural-historical entity. The starting-point in examining possible revitalization concepts was a critical approach to the classical heritage and the use of small structural units and ensembles with the view of producing modern architectural works that would essentially revive the original principles and humanism of classical architecture but with a freshness and vigour befitting the sensibility of modern man. Several earner studies that addressed the same problem failed to activate the potentials of Topcider. The proposed solutions were either very radical, to the point of degrading the cultural heritage, or they only treated individual portions instead of the whole. The students' works showed a readiness to highlight the existing values as much as the daring to change what was liable to change. The proposed park designs based on the introduction of elements intended to make the visitor feel good - exhibition pavilions, greenhouses, souvenir shops, bicycle-sheds, belvederes, bridges benches, or extraordinary structural components such as follies or a ceremonial entrance to the temple of nature - are easily and quickly feasible without jeopardizing the integrity of the cultural heritage. The public appreciation of the students' designs has shown that the city may rely on students' fresh and practicable ideas for the solution of its other similar problems. Some of the problems in this particular case have, however, fallen short of being fully solved as they depend on a number of external factors. The problem of traffic above all; until an integrated strategy has been agreed upon, it will be impossible to take full advantage of the site's potentials. The students of the faculties of Architecture, Forestry and Philosophy in Belgrade applied their hitherto acquired skills and knowledge to the problem of revitalizing the central zone of Topčider, its oldest core around the Residence of Prince Miloš, through differentiating the functions of individual sections, landscaping and designing small architectural forms promenades, gates, park furnishings, lights etc. The design process went through three phases. At first the students carried out an extensive historical, urban-planning and architectural analysis which provided a basis for evaluating the area as a whole and for setting guidelines for further work. The preliminary research involved the study of archival and literary sources providing information about the urban development of the Topčider area as well as fieldwork; architectural and stylistic analysis, and the state of preservation assessment, of the park, structures, monuments fountains etc; the historical and architectural importance of structures and open spaces; the layout of structures and their interrelationships; dominant sightlines and visual interrelationships of structures that needed to be preserved or accentuated; the features and purposes of structures and open spaces, as well as a consideration of new functions of interest to the revitalization of the park; the existing traffic conditions: types and routes of pedestrian, motor, tram and rail traffic. The objective was not only to pinpoint the problems and critical points in the space, but also to identify potentials of the space, important sightlines and focal points. In the second phase of the project the students outlined their design concept for the central zone of Topčider Park (scale 1:1000). The emphasis was on defining the secondary motor ways: vehicular access and car-parking facilities for the existing and planned structures (their interconnection and integration into the transport network as envisaged by the General Urban Flan), bicycle lanes water streams and pools, walkways and open areas intended for recreational use, as well as on determining locations suitable for small facilities for cultural, recreational and transport purposes (such as information points exhibition and music pavilions, open stages, cafes, greenhouses, tram stations, facilities for storing and renting bicycles etc). In the third phase the students further elaborated their designs for the selected portion of the park including the questions of paving, green and water areas arbours, benches, colonnades, gates, lights, fences etc; or they worked on smaller structural facilities developing the plans, elevations, sections and site plans (scales of 1:100,1:50 and 1:25). The design of new elements within the protected park area was guided by the desire for their materialization to be consistent with the spirit and values of a historic locale. The students' proposals for the revitalization of the central zone of Topčider Park reveal all the diversity of their creative-ness inspired by classical-style architecture, ranging from the skill in modelling space and small architectural forms in accordance with the laws of historical styles to the ability uninhibitedly to intervene in a historic space through accentuating specific parts and creating modern works of an associative nature. Although assigned with the difficult task of working out a revitalization concept for a remarkably important cultural-historical site, presently in a poor state of preservation despite many initiatives, the students may be said to have produced quality solutions, coming up with a number of fresh ideas as to the reactivation of some of the existing buildings and areas through introducing modern contents or rehabilitating the old, as well as through introducing new but small-scale, low-profile structures in order to avoid disturbance to the historic area. The engagement of students in carrying out such a complex task has thus proved to be largely justified; namely, it shows that their work can bring in some fresh ideas and simple solutions for the individual parts of Topčider Park, thereby drawing public attention to the need for revitalizing the whole.",
publisher = "Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture grada Beograda, Beograd",
journal = "Nasleđe",
title = "Projekat revitalizacije prostorne kulturno-istorijske celine Topčider, Revitalization project for cultural-historical entity Topčider",
pages = "260-251",
number = "6",
url = "conv_709"
}
