Learning from Sarajevo

materials: concrete, coloured epoxy resin, plaster

Due to its history of inaccessibility the former military barracks are a black spot in the city fabric of Sarajevo - at once wasteland and potential shelter. Though it offers advantages over the rest of the city - such as car free zones, greenery and fresh air - the area lacks character, density and therefore potentials to identify with.

Learning from the bigger scale of Sarajevo which is characterized by areas of distinctive building typologies co-existing without transition in-between, the project restructures the existing barracks by forming composite blocks of old and new. En bloc, this frames the architectural setting for a publicly open educational campus. Complementary in program and harmonious in formal character, the new interventions form vis-a-vis and counterparts, providing introverted learning environments as well as extroverted public areas.

The pre-existing urban bodies of the former military barracks encounter new additions, defining a potential taxonomy of post-production strategies:

add-on, fill-in, and combine.

Whereas spaces for sport and gastronomic facilities invite the public, the strategy of either lifting up or resting into the ground the spaces for students provides tranquil learning environments.

The project was developed withing the framework of the CorssOver Studio of the IoA, an interdisciplinary studio in which students from all three masterclasses can participate. Whereas all projects were located in Sarajevo, the different approaches were worked out in individual projects.

Openness and indeterminacy. Due to its history of inaccessibility the former military barracks are a black spot in the city fabric of Sarajevo - at once wasteland and potential shelter: Though it offers potentials missed in the rest of the city - such as car free zones, greenery and fresh air - the area lacks character, density and therefore potentials to identify with.

Big scale and small scale. The city fabric of Sarajevo is characterised by a unique composition of sections with distinctive building typologies which are co-existing without transition in-between them. This results in areas of immense diversity within the city. Taking the benefits of this pinciple to a smaller scale, the project restructures the existing barracks by forming composite blocks of old and new, creating diversity yet forming an invitive composition.

Planned and Un-Planned. The pre-existing urban bodies of the former military barracks encounter new additions, defining a potential taxonomy of post-production strategies: add-on, fill-in, and combine. En bloc, this frames the architectural setting for a publicly open educational campus, offering accomodation for a new Film & Animation Faculty.

Introverted and extroverted. Complementary in program and harmonious in formal character, the new interventions form vis-a-vis and counterparts. Surrounded by intimate learning areas for students as well as publicly accessible sport facilities, screening halls and gastronomy, the open plaza forms the new heart for the city of Sarajevo.