Input
incomplete dream of Belgrade continuity
Lectures in Kazamati: Reconstruction of Sahat Tower Mr. Branislav Mitrović Architect Corresponding member of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Professor at Faculty of Architecture University of Belgrade
The clock (Sahat) tower was built in the 18th century, while the walls of the fortress around it and the tower gate were built up somewhere inbetween the Middle Ages and the construction of the tower itself. This project from 2008 included the functional adaptation of the tower and space surrounded by walls underneath the tower. Cultural and educative content, required by client, is planned, along with obligatory gallery where archeological material from vicinity of the tower is stored (and displayed?). The clock tower is octagonal room with the clock mechanism on top of the stairway. With this project area of the tower would be open for visitors, so adaptation of unstable wooden staircase was necessary. The vertical tower that rises above the fortress opens up a view of the environment through windows at the top. This view includes, in addition to the Belgrade fortress, part of the Old city and New Belgrade across the Sava and Danube rivers. Regarding the vertical nature of this structure, we chose horizontal architectural gesture, reduced to a single move. We recognized vacuum between medieval walls and the Austro-Hungarian building as the main spatial potential of this formation. Basic architectural principle here is subtraction, related to removing the soil between two historical layers.
Researching and analyzing this location, we found that the most adequate space for archeological exhibitions is a linear series of wells between the two walls on one side of the tower. Continuous space between the walls on the other side of the tower provides place for a wide range of functional organizations. Designers insisted on the relationship with inherited historic layers, by organizing useful in-between spaces that emphasize the fortress walls and display it as a museum piece. Between the layers of history is a unique space entity, with open chamber hall auditorium and covered multifunctional room containing the telescope mounting panels on both sides, and can be used as an exhibition space. Entrance hall, souvenir shop and toilets are planned as an additional content to this functional program. In addition to subtraction as a basic principle of intervention, design gesture was intended to bring together all the contents and set the term of the new historical layer. In the analysis of materials compatible with stone walls, with a focus on the continuity of an architectural gesture, we chose a corroded steel sheet as the dominant material. Additional decisions in materialization are related to the steel construction and horizontal glass panels that act as divider between levels and protect from bad weather conditions. Area of corroded metal sheet articulates the designed space in one unit. By going from a horizontal to vertical plan, depending on the respective areas, this unit receives different functional determinants: the stairs, the auditorium, entrance, floor, and wall.