Finish the corner - completion of a vacant lot at the corner of SNP square and Ľ. Štúr street, Zvolen

Project idea

Project attempts at functional and formal fullfilment of a lot at the corner of Zvolen's main square - SNP square and Ľudovít Štúr street.

The lot is a side product of town's new masterplan realisation and local demolishing of the area in the first half of the last century when town opened it's old centre and created a plan that met modern standards. The lot's remained vacant ever since, now a home to few overgrown trees behind a tall wall. It's neighbour - old townhall, however, survived the demolition untouched and now houses a small information centre for tourists and cultural centre for the town. It's made of a small number of exhibition spaces, one multifunction events space and even a little wedding hall, accompanied by few workshops and offices, all cooped up under one roof.

The main objective of the project is to find a program that benefits as the neighbour as the town and to provide it a form that builds on the historic fabric of the area while it respects the (relatively) new context of the lot.

Project description

The designs devides it's main attention to four blocks.

Block A adapts it's dimensions to the height and depth of it's western neighbour. It contains two multifunctional spaces and their facilities - one smaller on the first floor and one bigger above. Thanks to it's symmetrical layout with thirteen meter above the centre of the floor it almost earns qualities of a temple.

Block B creates the main entrance to the building and meets it's visitors with fluent foyer that flows over two storeys. It's also communal bond with the rest of the building nested on the east faceing town's square. Above it there's a workshop taking care of town's cultural centre's exhibits.

Block C decreases it's ledge to the height of the old townhall. It's made of offices running the entire building with small cafeteria on the first floor.

Block D - the old townhall - is cleansed of the offices and workshops spaces relocated to the volumes of the previous blocks, allowing it to expend it's exhibition and events spaces to the full.

Main facilities, parking and storage spaces of the building are put underground.

Technical information

The layout of the building is strictly regulated by current town’s masterplan. The volume of the form builds on the historic fabric of the area – starts with two storeys to the side of town’s square with ledge at the same height as the adjacent old townhall, then slowly grows to it’s full height at the angle of it’s neighbour’s roof, then back again to meet building’s western neighbour. Such form also meets town’s masterplan criteria on the number of storeys of the building.

Facade of the building tells a story of interruption of the demolition of the area in the first half of the last century. While rhytm and dimensions of it’s openings correspondes with the adjacent old townhall, it clearly interpretes abruptness of the town’s intervention with distance of facade of titanium zinc. Facade of main transverse wall of the building adapts it’s material from the area. It’s main expression remains flat, but decorative.

Structure is mainly poured from reinforced concrete, long spans of the roof over main multifuntional space is bridged over with steel truss beams.