Miris Garden

University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, Belgrade, Serbia

Project idea

The goal of the project is to create a new recognizable tourist attraction which exudes the Dalmatian spirit, preserves nature and provides visitors with new unique experiences.

The project site is located in the immediate vicinity of Starigrad, a Croatian village near Zadar. In the hinterland of this place is the mountain Velebit, as well as the Paklenica National Park. The area was declared a national park due to its exceptional geomorphological forms and magnificent forests, and as such it represents the largest forest complex in Dalmatia. The park itself has a very developed infrastructure, which is reflected in a series of hiking and cycling routes. The configuration of the terrain is very diverse, but mostly involves steep rocky falls. Stone is also very present in the architecture of this area, which later served as an inspiration for the materialization of the project. Also, nautical tourism is very common in this area. There are several nautical routes that combine sailing and cycling on the islands located relatively close to the site. In this regard, making the coast ready to accommodate visitors and including the location in existing routes is one of the imperatives. This implies the creation of a new network of docks and a marina, considering that the existing marina in Starigrad is not adequate.

Project description

Based on the extensive analysis of the location intended for the Miris garden project, a problem of connection along the coastline was noticed, so main idea is reconciling the land and the sea due to the collision, that is, pulling the sea into the land and pulling the land into the sea - leaving the trail. The waterfront redesign is imagined as a series of platforms and docks dedicated to different water activities. The goal is to create interactive content along the lunogmare in order to work on the activation of the coast. The coast has all the necessary buildings to support various water sports, as well as public amenities, cafes and restaurants with sea view. The formation of new bays and raised platforms creates a playful movement of uninterrupted activities separated from the villas. This new lungomare is connected with marina that has spaces for boat repair and rental services, as well as the administration, cafes, restaurants and bars with indoor and outdoor seating.

Emerging from the terrain, at the central and steepest part of the location is commercial center which is also directly connected to the main road and the marina. The connection is made by creating a path both raised above the ground and engraved in the terrain. The path is intended for pedestrians and cyclists, and serves as the primary connection from the main road to the sea for the people only visiting the area for a day. All the other roads are intended for people staying in the complex. In this way, movement was created without the use of a car at the location itself, since visitors would have to leave their cars in the designated parking lot and go down to the coast on foot or by bicycle. There is also vehicular access to the marina, but it is intended only for serving the facilities within the marina and lungomare. The buildings of the commercial center are half-buried as not to obstruct the continuous view of the sea through the greenery that the users have when going down to the coast. Within the commercial center there are a cafe, bookshop and retail stores, but the commercial center, lungomare and the marina should be seen as one functional unit.

Big part of the project concept is protecting the existing landscape. In order to preserve the existing morphology and native vegetation on the site, the villas are designed to follow the slope of the terrain as much as possible. Each villa has a separate vehicular access, as well as a separate path to the coast, thus enabling maximum privacy for users. The villas are separated from each other only by greenery which allows privacy when users are enjoying on the terrace or by their private pool.

Technical information

Stone walls were the motif that followed the project and were used as an integrative tool that connects villas, access roads, facilities in the marina and lungomare as well as the commercial center. The construction used in all public buildings is a concrete construction, while the final exterior cladding is made of stone and interior of wood. All public buildings are designed as single-story buildings with a maximum floor height of 4.5m. There are 3 types of villas that differ in size. Villas are elevated from the ground, and prefabricated concrete and wooden construction was used. The use of a wooden sloping roof allows the installation of solar panels to harness the sun's energy. The glass surfaces face the sea, to take advantage of the view, but are also protected by wooden panels due to the high temperatures in summer. Main materials used for terraces and the interior of the villas are wood, stone and glass.

Zones