Sharing creativity. Creative spaces and their impact on culture-led urban development. The case of Sofia, Bulgaria

This thesis work investigates the possibility to utilize and redesign public spaces and city-owned property as well as misused or abandoned places for creative projects in Sofia’s urban setting –“City as a Loft”. The project focuses on culture-led development and the importance of cultural clusters in urban regeneration. It takes advantage of already existing built up spaces and brownfields to give a sustainable temporary solution for urban growth with no additional footprint. The main research questions guiding the project are: 1. What are the ways to apply the tools of sharing economy in the urban and architectural setting and how those concepts relate to the trend of temporary uses in culture-led urban development? 2. What are the most favorable conditions for a temporary cluster development? 3. How to adapt the world acknowledged strategies to the Bulgarian setting? The thesis is divided in three main steps- a theoretical frame; an analysis of the current urban state and the potentials for temporary uses in the city of Sofia suggesting an urban regeneration strategy; and an architectural project showing the adaptation and reuse of an old tram hall as a temporary space.