Photo: 3D vizuelizacije: AKVS arhitektura ©The former turning point for steam locomotives near the Mostar loop in Belgrade will be reconstructed and turned into a multi-purpose center by the spring of 2025. The works have recently and officially started and are being carried out according to the project of a new architectural-urban solution, which was authored by Anđela Karabašević Sudžum and Vladislav Sudžum, founders of the Belgrade studio AKVS architecture, which won the international competition in November 2021 with its team. The work is expected to last two years.
3D visualisation: AKVS arhitektura ©
The reconstruction of the old railway turnout involves the restoration of the Ložionica and Water Tower, as well as the construction of a new office building in the northeastern part of the site, reports beobuild.rs. The investor in the project is the Government of the Republic of Serbia, through the Office for Information Technologies and e-uprava as well as the National Platform Serbia Creates, and the total value of the investment is estimated at 52 million euros.
3D visualisation: AKVS arhitektura ©
The original design of the Ložionica building was done by engineer Nikola Raičković (1925-27) and consists of a large semi-circular hall with 31 places for the accommodation and performance of steam locomotives on the track, locomotive turnstiles, and administrative buildings. The Water Tower building has been in its current form on this site since 1945, after it was restored and modified due to damage it suffered during the war. According to unofficial data, the famous academician Milutin Milanković participated in the design of the tower that existed between the two wars.
3D visualisation: AKVS arhitektura ©
With the reconstruction project, the Ložionica building will be completely preserved in its original state, so that the interior space remains open and flowing, without transverse partitions. The authors gave the entire building a special stamp of character through the 26 high gabion panels filled with local railway stone at the openings for locomotives to enter the Ložionica. Five-meter-high panels open up the entire interior space of the hall to the landscape surrounding the loop and introduce visitors to the hub's space.
After thorough reconstruction, the Water Tower will be a new landmark in the area, preserved and exposed to the public as a valuable heritage of the industrial archeology of the city of Belgrade. The space inside will be completely open, with no new additions except for one platform for visitors to stand on so that the entire volume of the building will be visible. In the interior, the original brick walls and the bronze ball at the top with a diameter of 6.5 meters, which used to collect water for steam locomotives, will be preserved. The interior space, almost 15 meters high and about 7 meters in diameter, is planned for temporary panoramic digital projections.
3D visualisation: AKVS arhitektura ©
The Business Annex next to Ložionica is the third element of the project and the main facility of the creative-innovative center, and it was conceived as a modern office building without columns. A large glazed escalator on the third floor of the building will lead to a panoramic public terrace with a view to the entire Ložionica complex and its surroundings from a height. In the spirit of the idea of ecological progress, the Business Annex gets an oxygen membrane, along with over 200 bamboo seedlings that levitate around the building, purifying the air in the immediate environment, and at the same time giving the entire creative-innovative center a new specific identity. Compared to other plants, bamboo releases 30% more oxygen into the atmosphere and absorbs more carbon dioxide, which will help create a better working environment for around 400 employees.
The holder of the project documentation is the company Mašinoprojekt KOPRING, while the interior design of the Ložionice is signed by INKA studio from Belgrade. The reconstruction of the complex is being carried out by the Belgrade company M Enterijer Gradnja.
Source: beobuild.rs
3D visualisation: AKVS arhitektura ©
