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ARCHITECTURE & URBAN PLANNING

Conceptual Design Competition “City Square” – Suharekë – “2nd Price” Award

LOCATION

We located a popular street in Suhareka City that would soon be home to a new type of public area.

It is a plan to improve the development of an existing neighborhood in the city by filling it with open space and flora. The proposal intentionally does not execute on the surrounding buildings to revamp the area, but instead inserts itself into the central space and seeks to reimagine the memorial of the lost people during the last war in Kosovo. Our major goal was to let the now-hidden potentials shine through the redesign.

Urban Solution

The designated plot for the new square was outlined by streets, but the design seamlessly fuses them into a continuous, walkable urban space.

Key features of the design include, a green corridor runs through the site and connects various areas and activities using pedestrian roads paved to enhance interconnectivity, the design prioritizes transportation, biking, and pedestrian mobility to promote active, well-organized urban societies.

The plan proposes narrower streets and smaller blocks to create active, useful, and engaging street fronts.

To ensure the new development is maintainable, flexible, and energy-efficient, the design incorporates networks of paths and streets that encourage walking, a mix of different building categories, activities, and social classes, and considers 24-hour occupation of the urban area. Seating areas and new trees are clustered into little isles, leaving large zones empty while serving as crucial plugs in this blankness.

The extensive red line throughout the square represents missing people that are not until they are found, at which point a rock replaces the empty squares formed by the vessels that return blood to the heart of the city.