Former foundry OLT in Osijek won 3rd prize at the urban planning and architectural competition for a solution for the solution of the area of ​​the former foundry (OLT) in Osijek.

CONTEXT

The metropolitan spirit of Osijek, as the capital of the eastern Croatian macro-region, can come to life in the form of the urban-architectural solution of the OLT settlement, on the site of a former important factory, when a combination of high-density contemporary architecture and the restoration of valuable architectural heritage is possible.

The analysis shows that a density of 400 inhabitants/ha achieves a qualitative shift and vibrancy of the urban fabric.

With an alternating game of identical fields (greenery, housing, heritage, sports, pedestrian area…), devoid of traffic restrictions, with the new density of the settlement and the identity silhouette of the OLT, it is possible to move traffic into the secondary center of Osijek. The hidden positive moment of the industrial heritage will be revived and multipolarity will be achieved.

The university campus in the immediate vicinity and in contact with the operation as an important moment thus gains additional energy and momentum in terms of content. The program concept – a sports campus on the territory of OLT supports the direction of originality and branding of Osijek as a city of sports and Croatia as a sports nation.

CONCEPT

The starting point of the module and the 20 m x 20 m grid is in the line and direction of the decumanus maximus, referring to the ancient principle of proper rasterization and regulation during the formation of cities.

The basic concept of the OLT space is based on the rasterization of the fluidity of the planned space and construction and the connection of the new residential district and the sports incubator with all the important roads that are around them – the center of Osijek with the Fortress, the university campus and the green neighborhoods in the west and south – into a complete grid. fields 20 x 20 m of green, pedestrian nature.

The grid is dimensioned to support the integration of the following modern city-building elements into the given context:

– dotted morphology of new residential and social construction; solitary residential buildings and other free-form architecture;

– idle traffic in the underground floors ensures a sufficiently spacious ground floor for urban public space and city amenities;

– absolute renovation of valuable architectural heritage; turnery and carpentry complex, administrative building and office;

– the corridor of Svačićeva Street needs to be formed so that a new tram connection is planned (connection of lines 1 and 6 from Ulica Cara Hadrijana to Divaltova), road traffic, tree lines and pedestrian and bicycle paths;

– connecting the OLT with a safe underpass under the railway towards Vijenec Ivan Meštrović.

With the architectural spatial composition, the OLT gets a green ‘scenography’ in combination with safe pedestrian areas that can be described as a dispersed public space – a square.

The grid is the grid in which the buildings are positioned. Car traffic is solved with only five car entrances/exits (Svačićeva 3, Vukovarska 1) to/from the corridors of the surrounding roads. In addition to the existing railway line, it is also proposed to construct a service street that will serve as access to the garages.

Relationship to historical heritage and memory of space

Everything that is a valuable architectural heritage – remains and is renewed thanks to a new user and new cultural and commercial contents.

The residential buildings along Vukovarska Street would offer a home, an office and a foundry with an exhibition hall as well as a turnery, locksmith and carpentry.

The administration building and the office should be renovated with the greatest care, because the conservation study showed that there really is knowledge and material that covers the original appearance of these buildings.

With the foundry, exhibition hall, turnery, locksmith and carpentry – the design and renovation should also be approached with the greatest care, however, as over time there were many additions that should be removed – it will be necessary to find a compromise solution. It would certainly be desirable to restore all the glass walls in their original form towards the street and external facades, and towards the inner courtyard, the sports hall… to maximally open the gallery spaces, spaces of art studios, markets and the like with glass facades.

It is also proposed to create a museum of OLT in the carpentry section – in which the entire history and importance of the factory throughout history would be shown.

In the ground floor, it is planned to mark the decumanus maximus line with a special material, which is also the origin of the urban planning grid for this project. If the original layer is discovered during excavation, it will be presented in situ.

CURIOSITIES

Single point ‘solitary’ construction ensures constant gentle ventilation of the pedestrian surface of the OLT. This is very important during the hot summer days, because it affects the minimal retention of insects such as mosquitoes, which are a big problem in Osijek.