Veliko Tarnovo SPACEGUIDE

34 European Architecture Students Assembly Symbioza 2014 Veliko Tarnovo Bulgaria

Intro We wanted to create a guidebook which we would love to have ourselves. Not one full of descriptions and details about museums and monuments, but of atmospheres.

Every traveler’s dream is to have a friend from the city, who would bring you to the places you would never get to on your own.

Spaceguide is a proxy for this friend.

Spaceguide is a forest of private impressions and notes on spaces, which we found tempting in the exploration of Veliko Tarnovo. Our impressions are linked through stories, which happened in the past or continue to happen, and they engender a sense of the space revealed from an insider’s point of view.

Space 1

Паралели [paralyeli]

Parallels

Streets flow like parallel rivers down the slope of an old town.

Every adjacent street occupies its own contour against the valley wall - each marking another step. They intersect and touch only at a few points.

This parallel nature creates numerous side effects. You can be at a distance of 20 metres from the main road and at the same time, not be able to hear the noise, because you are in a parallel universe with happy cats that are fed regularly with chicken.

Space 2

Долина [doleena]

Valley

For someone from a pancake-flat place, mountains are something magical. They form an embracing landscape, where each space is defined by natural borders.

The valley spaces of Veliko Tarnovo feel so extremely dense, as if you step into the bubbles, different in shapes and sizes - filled with sounds, eyes looking on you, wafting scents and warm air.

Space 3

Cърце [sŭrtse]

Heart

Veliko Tarnovo is a natural amphitheatre where you can listen to a jazz concert directly from your bedroom. The success of such publicly integrated places lies deeply in the human subconscious - it reminds us of a circle around an ancient fireplace, where you feel safe.

Space 5

Янтра

Yantra

You can see a street you want to take just in front of you, but to reach it you will have to go 1 km to the bridge, and then 1 km to this street, because there is an almost invisible stream, cutting the city into isolated island-hills.

The river is hidden, however its presence significant. Its sound is running through the corridors of old town.

Space 5

Tунел [tunel]

Tunell

Veliko Tarnovo turns into 100m city here squeezing, corset-like, between the curves of the river. The railway and highway form specific spatial conditions - brutal, monumental and vibratory.

The trick of the landscape converts the city into an arc over your head.

Space 6

СтълбаStairs [stŭlba]

There is a rose cosmetics shop in Veliko Tarnovo, that hides the door to the perimeter of the city - to the northern slope.

Due to the characteristics of the landscape, the city still keeps its ancient borders. This stair is one of only a few paths which connect the old town with the valley of Yantra. Feel like Indiana Jones, climbing them in jungle-like, green tunnel.

Space 7

Море [morye]

Sea

I grew up in a city by the sea, and never could imagine myself living without it- in the city with no seagulls crying in the morning, no salt in the air.

The hills form frozen waves.

Space 8

Черната Black църква church [chernata tsŭrkva]

Sometimes you better follow the traditional touristic root - it will guide you to Tsarevets castle, the symbol of Bulgarian kingdom and glory.

Light flickers in electric candles, the black frescos made in early ‘eighties, and at the altar, an uncanny collage reflects the atmospheres - images and symbols with no condemning looks aimed at you.

Space 9

Béton brut Let’s take you to the periphery of Veliko Tarnovo to enjoy the pure space.

The church exists frozen in time… in a temporary ambience of a concrete structure. The archetypical orthodox church is put into an extraordinary situation in which it’s usually never seen - with no finishing, no mosaic, no gold. No ceremonies, no prayers, no sins. There is only the music of spheres - the fundamentals of all orthodox temples.

Epilogue In Veliko Tarnovo you can still find places where life flows in ancient streams, simple and sincere. In contrast to many old European cities, where a historical center plays mostly a role of entertaining tourists in all the possible ways, Veliko Tarnovo remains the opposite.

The most beautiful and fascinating part of the city is not the one promoted by huge money investments. Veliko Tarnovo is not the city with rows of competing classical facades, it is much more about a spectacular space, not the expensive architecture.

It is an organic urban body, a coral reef of Balkans.

We had two types of portraits - buildings and people. Following the rules of not mixing each type, we stayed refined and clean.

Perfection‌ between of lines and surfaces vs smiles and the irresistible charm of Easans.

And then we merged them To create new symbiotic relationship between people, buildings and their stories.

N was born in Veliko Tarnovo. A little bit later he became famous football player in Austria.

He played for many years and then retired.

He probably came back to Veliko Tarnovo.

The Austrian football team tried to contact him several times, but never succeded.

There are rumours going around that he bought a fuel station... or a swimming pool.

Last thursday, Symbioza tutors from the workshop ‘Think Tank differently’ (all of whom are Austrian) could not get a tank to play with. They became a little upset.

So after a hard and disappointing day, they had a drink in the local bar. They met a guy who describes a bar where N can be found.

They spent a great evening together, walking the rakia - vodka border.

They walked for so long ... that in the morning N’s mother was cooking breakfast for them.

It was delicious.

Thank you organizers, participants, municipality, all the other great people for wonderful time in Veliko Tarnovo

Spaceguide team Olga Trebuhina Tamara Kalantajevska Iryna Kharchenko Julian Vassallo Ildiko Mets