NAME OF PROJECT / THE TEMPLE OF OBLIVION - (META)RUINS AS GENERATORS OF A NEW URBAN LANDSCAPE

University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, Belgrade, Serbia

Project idea

Artifacts of history, culture, art, knowledge, collective consciousness in the elements of architectural heritage - in this case fortified cities and their ruins, cause a reevaluation in our understanding and attitude towards them. Abandoned and empty spaces, deserts within the city, cities within the city, define the cultural and physical context but also expand its boundaries. The context and influence of such cities cannot be reduced only to the ruins of walls and houses that we see without understanding the metaphysical values ​​shown in them in the combination of time and space. Cities within the city designated as third spaces define entire epochs and absorb time in which they are redefined and transformed and become characteristic time capsules that carry the zeitgeist. The goal of the entire work and project is to show and define the principle of its physical transformability through spatial interventions, transforming fragments of heritage that bear traces of collective consciousness. Through physical fragments, we perceive metaphysical characteristics, but we also present them through their reshaping and recomposition - reprogramming.

Project description

The master project was conceived to follow two main, imagined, former directions in the city, two main streets originating from the Roman urban planning of the city. The circular building is located in a large square "pool" lowered and buried at that height, primarily because of the awareness of the views to and from the Belgrade Fortress. Two imagined directions pass over and through the building, influencing the internal organization of the space. In the center of the building there is a multifunctional stage, which should simulate the cultural life of the city on stage. On the ground floor of the building there are foyers+, a lecture hall, a library+ and a library+ as primary functions, while on the first floor in the gallery there are exhibition spaces - memory rooms. The ground floor contains the excavated remains of the former military facilities that were located on that site. The remains of the metropolis are in metavisual contact with the new object and with the new life given to them, together they form a meta-architecture and have the ability to generate a new urban landscape of the city. Meta-architecture establishes a relationship and communicates with its users and observers, it becomes a fragment of reality, i.e. a training ground for imagination and the creation of spatial-poetic images.

Technical information

The structure of the building is reinforced concrete. Columns, slabs and beams are made of concrete. There is a concrete ring around the building that gives the building a sense of monumentality.