Starigrad Spiral

Project idea

In 27 AD, Emperor Vespasian built an amphitheater in Pula as a gift to his love, Antonia Cenida. 200 years later, Emperor Augustus wanted to please the gods, Jupiter and Minerva, and in their honor built the largest square in Zadar today. Apart from the fact that the Roman emperors had a strange sense of giving gifts; these two buildings are connected by the same function - public space.
As the context of the given location is rich in cultural heritage, but poor in cultural content, the logical move was to build a structure that would compensate for the lack of museums, concert spaces, karaoke bars and everything that could be a counterpart to the former amphitheater.

Project description

The design focus is on the commercial center and the marina. These two functions are combined into one amphitheater-spiral structure that first cascades and then spirals down to the water level and then transitions into a path followed by the marina.
The commercial center contains all the functions required by the competition (restaurants, market, conference rooms, playrooms for children) with the addition of space for exhibitions and concerts, a youth center, a cinema and a karaoke club.
The urban plan is inspired by the Japanese symbol of kaizen. Kaizen is a symbol of constant progress; meaning that we don't go in circles, our path is spiral.
Also, the emphasis is on preserving the natural beauty of the Adriatic coast, and because of this, the docks on the water take over the function of a beach and a promenade.
Since the terrain is in a steep decline, all rooms and suites have sea views, private villas have their own infinity edge pools and are immersed in natural vegetation.

Technical information

The total area intended for construction is 170,000 m2. The GFA of the commercial center would be around 6,000 m2, where half of the area would actually be made up of vertical communications, i.e. open spiral public space. The area of the promenade on the water and the marina would occupy about 1500m2. The GFA of a private villa is 180m2 with a minimum of 30 percent greenery.

Zones