LANDMARK SERIES
a medieval complex of churches, palaces, museums, and governmental buildings, in between a mountain on the north and a river on the south, over the river and through the woods, zagreb is in the perfect place for a city to sustain and last, a blessing and a curse. and now it needs to expand to the south and densify the existing modern urban area.
an observation tower will remark this new city and be the symbol of this endeavor.
will ascension capture the heart of the city?
ascension
limited edition aerial forest brings freshness of medvednica mountain
with a new center emerges an iconic new gate : ascension, functioning as an observation tower, literally at the heart of zagreb, set in midst the old and the new city, gets inspired from the city’s historical and natural iconic landmarks, facing the southbank of river sava and derives its form with analogical approach to the existing towers of the old town and revives itself using the magnificient nature of the city as an immersive skin of the earth, the wood and the forest. as the novi zagreb is the future and modern face of zagreb, ascencion represents and empowers the connection with the past and future; nature and man made; old and new; as though the ground ascended to the sky and created this void, to engage this dialogue with a strong flow and visual relation.
year
size
location
theme
status
2019
200 m2
crotia
zagreb
public space
landmark
competition
finalist
zagreb is an old city with a growing potential, also accommodating a great landscape and nature. every growing potential is valuable, especially if it is following the rhythm, scale and the heritage of the city. the ascension tower, new gate between the old and new city would be a representative of the background of the city while giving a new breath for the future.
having vistas on different levels, the tower ends up with a platform at 40m from the ground level, giving a perfect field of view starting from ‘sava river’ to the heart of zagreb, culminates with the medvednica mountains and an eternal sky.
creating a portal between old and new city, the observation tower ends with a simple, easy and identical form, which could be traced back to medieval times, surrounds visitors with a traditional, timeless and sustainable material, deliberately turning into a city charm and sparking the desire to be there at least once and get that photo under the torsade.
how can we reveal the potential of the city’s iconic context with an observation tower enjoying a connection with the city's historical and natural background?
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the site of ascension tower is located between the old and new city and is literally in the middle of them. zagreb is expanded on east and west, however, south is the new black for growing direction of the city.
ascension tower establishes a dialogue between the old and new zagreb, by creating a symbolic void which defines a strong flow and a visual connection between both sides of the city.
its magnificient and well-protected environment makes it a place to live for good and the best way to see the city, as if you were in the middle of medvenica forests within the ease of being literally here in the midst of the city center.
as a connecting and reflective feature of the old and the new city, ascencion greets the landmarks of the downtown with respect and claims a unique form with analogical proportions.
ascension creates a focus point to the plaza located at the intersection of the main retail streets connecting the river sava to dubrovnik avenue. facing the old and the new city ascension connects the riverbank with the prospected greenery of this new urban development.
ascension is the new gate of the city zagreb, connecting both sides of the city, the river and the mountain visually with a green portal, which revives a vertical path of a natural observation tower.
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entangled terraces give way to trees while changing focus points of the visitor and encourage to target other parts of the city as well as the old town.
every spectator around gets different vistas from their relative position of time and space, while the inner shell gives a warm, welcoming, inclusive and a safe ambiance for visitors on various levels with peculiar panoramas. the tangled terraces give way to trees and create unexpected encounters with other visitors and so with the city.
