URBAN PARK Å PICA, LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
Invited competition, 2006
PROJECT:URBAN PARK Å PICA
SOURCE:COMPETITION PROJECT
CLIENT:CITY OF LJUBLJANA
SITE:Å PICA - LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
PROGRAM:PUBLIC, CULTURAL, EDUCATIONAL, RECREATIONAL
AUTHORS:BREDA BIZJAK, LORENKA STROPNIK
DATE:2006


The park is an attractive outdoor space prepared for events to take place enabling total experience of an ambience.
The Špica site is located in the city center by the river Ljubljanica. Above all, this is an ambience dominated by water. That is why we suggest that project design enables maximal connection with water in whole spatial range.
The project combines the compactness of the urban structure and continuous transition and changeability of the landscape. Our movement and perception  are softly guided through the space, our sights open sequentially. Structured topography enables bigger interaction of the landscape and built structure. New spatial experiences of the urban topography generate wider gravitational field of the park which will become recognizable within the city social network.

The park dimension is defined by the maximal permitted footprint on the site. The whole surface of the park has been treated as a gentle slope of the river bank. It consists of a green surface which folds in many variations and creates different park ambiences:
1. The building and a river station ambience on the south-easte edge of the park,
2. The central part of the park,
3. The auditorium with a stage on the cape of the site,
4. The network of interconnecting linear accesses to the river,
5. The children's playground on the north edge of the park.

1. The bulding consisting of two parts, one oriented toward the street and the second one oriented toward the river, is composed from steel construction. The roof surface of first part gently folds and descends to the roof of the second part. In the basement, opened to the river, the additional program of the park is situated, a restaurant and a bar, a library and a reading club, as well as  service facilities for the boat station activities. The outdoor floor of the river station is covered in wood and this makes it more urban-like in contrast with a bigger, green part of the park which is paved with various greenery. The river station ambience is the most frequent part of the park.

2. The central part of the park presents its core. It consists of interconnected paved and grassed surfaces which inclose different types of vegetations. The dense network of paths enables dynamic movement through the park and good connectivity.

3. The auditorium is situated on the cape of the site which enables undisturbed events, the usage of the natural slope for the audience and the stage placement on the peak of the site with possibility of its extension on the river. The outdoor theater would be a great contribution to the city and the park which would become very frequent place in the time of the event.

4. The network of interconnecting linear accesses to the river on the western edge of the park enables the usage of steep slope  for the ambiences like terraced bar, sequenced avenues planted with trees which follow the terrain descending rythm and act as pointers of movement and sights toward the river.