Belgrade vaporetto

During time, the capital of Serbia has gone through many phases of urban development. It has been conquered, demolished and renewed many times since it’s beginnings. Every historical event left a mark on Belgrade’s urban development and influenced creation of different areas of the city. Following several categories, such as the character of the area, existance of an culturally important building or an area, natural landscape characteristics, and similar, it is possible to recognize urban islands of the city. Every island works in it’s own way, creates it’s own philosophy and development, and mostly, after some lighter interventions, they can work independently or, in other words, become cities within the city. But what happens in between? The islands have to be interconnected in a certain way in order to work together as a system. Connections, such as public bus transport exist, but this mean of connection proved not to be too sustainable. Another issue recognised in the city is that there is no connection with the area of the city with maybe the highest, but unused, potential - two rivers, Danube and Sava. Nowadays, it becomes more and more important that infrastructure systems turn as sustainable as possible. Using two rivers, as a natural part of the landscape, appears as a logical reaction that allows future development and adjustment following the needs of the future generations. Also, riverfronts of Belgrade are mostly neglected and unused, waiting for it’s time to be developed. Many culturally important buildings, yet mostly abandoned, are located near the river. The natural mean of transport between the urban islands could revive the abandoned or neglected areas of the city along the rivers, as each ferry stop could provide spaces which would be alternative gates to reach the other island, or in other words, to reach the other part of the city. On the other hand, Belgrade, just as every other major city, is experiencing a growth of the population which means a necessity for strongly developed connections and public means of transport. The growth of the population through the years is not rapid, but it is constant. The proposed interventions would put in one system all the islands of Belgrade along the river, reconnecting the parts and revitalising currently neglected parts of the city. In the project, whenever possible, revitalisation was chosen over the destruction and creation of the new elements. In other words, the concentration was mostly on urban editing of the city parts. All the stops along the river are reffering to a specific building or an area on the island, and the development of those buildings or areas would mean a possible development of the whole island. We recognised the quality in these mostly abandoned buildings and areas and we decided to highlight the importance that they can have as the withesses of the historically important moments in Belgrade. The stops are referring to these objects in order to bring them back to life and back to the use. This urban editing and reconnection of the parts of the city creates a possibility of a different understanding and reading of the city, that was not so clear and possible before. Belgrade would be seen form another perspective, where all the parts are set together, and it would offer a possibility of sustainable future development of infrastructure, crutial for a strong future urban development of the city. Changes are constantly taking place, and all the interventions on a bigger scale should turn to sustaiability in therms of possibility for the future changes and adjustment. Only that way, the urban development would guarantee the clean and easy way for the city’s growth.