CITY CENTER_D - anycolor

‘CITY CENTER_D’

Type: Architectural competition
Area: 108 000 m²
Project: 2022

Client: Dobrich municipality

Awarded second place

by the jury

Team: AnyColor, PONY architects, NSSN design

In search of a definition of the “best and most livable city”, our team is united around the hypothesis that it should be the “charming lively city” – not only technologically “smart”, not only historical.

In response to the competition brief, the original value system of our project proposal directs its gaze to the poetics of the wider territory of the Dobrudja Plateau, in which the city of Dobrich occupies an important place. We regard the currently unified and without visible relation to the forming it buildings central urban space of Dobrich, as a place to architecturally (not literally) retell the landscape of Dobruja and connect itself more closely with the territory.

‘CITY CENTER_D’

Type: Architectural competition
Area: 108 000 m²
Project: 2022

Client: Dobrich municipality

Awarded second place

by the jury

Team: AnyColor, PONY architects, NSSN design

The historical overlays of the 20th century have almost completely shaped the appearance of the center of the city of Dobrich.

The legacy they leave behind is an impressive in its size system of squares and pedestrian streets. They are, on the one hand, remote from the scale of the human body and difficult to master, suitable only for organized events of the type of demonstrations and meetings, formally uniform and non-communicating with the entrances and facades of the buildings that define them, and often blocked by elements of the spontaneous development, such as the raised planting beds. On the other hand, however, they are extensive, freed from car presence and accessibility problems and containing a huge potential to connect meaningfully, in addition to physically, the variety of different scale and type of public and commercial buildings, located in the center of the city.

In 1970, the construction plan was approved, aiming to direct the development of the city toward meeting the requirements of the modern socialist urban planning: the streets are straightened and widened, and the scale of the environment and the development is drastically changed. However, in order to free up space for the new construction, almost all emblematic buildings from the first half of the 20th century were destroyed.

The appearance of Shadravana Square (now Svoboda Square) was also radically changed, as it should be much more spacious.

Street network in 1968: before the major urban planning changes of the 1970s and 1980s. Dobrich (then Tolbukhin), has a commercial and artisan appearance. Its streets are small and winding. The existing urban environment is of low-rise traditional architecture. The main streets passing through the center are the main arteries along which bus and car traffic moves.

Street network in 1988: the center is completely free of car traffic, the main streets straightened and widened, and the commercial establishments and the building stock along them renewed. On the one hand, the radical urban planning changes create conflicts in the urban fabric and erase a large part of the architectural heritage, but on the other hand, they leave an extensive pedestrian area and a variety of public buildings.

HUMAN SCALE OF THE PUBLIC SQUARE SPACES
The center of Dobrich offers many public square spaces, inner courtyards of buildings and various “pockets” along the periphery of the pedestrian streets.
If we measure these public spaces, not in square meters, but in a unit of measurement based on the dimensions of the human body (points at a distance of 2m from each other), we can get a clearer idea of the diversity in the area and the volume of the pedestrian environment in Dobrich.
In line with the motivation of the authors of the task contained in the poetic subtitle of the competition – “Of ants and men” – the potential of these large-scale pedestrian urban spaces is contained in the possibility of them being rethought in the direction of encouraging liveliness and taking into account the different models of habitation of the modern urban spaces.

The project seeks for a realistic manifestation of the poetic reading of the territory, which can adequately fit into the budget requirements. Thus, the proposed interventions are rarely based on grand architectural gestures, but rather on a careful look at the individual zones and the improvement of urban living in each of them. Borrowing structural and visual devices from the territory of the Dobrudja Plateau, our proposal burdens with new meaning the relationships between the center and the periphery of the square and street pedestrian spaces, to uncover their hidden potential.

The center preserves the good connectivity that the extensive pedestrian areas of the central city currently provide, emphasizing, by analogy with the organization of the suburban territories, the possibility of transit for both pedestrians and bicycles, in the middle most open section of the main squares and streets. It is envisaged to remove the unnecessary physical obstacles, such as raised planting beds around the existing trees and functionally unnecessary terracing and curbs, and in their place, according to the possibilities arising from the way of planting the tree vegetation, which the project preserves in full, leveling of the pavements, smooth hilly transitions in them or new seats under the shade of the trees are foreseen.

THE PAVEMENTS

The alternation of different pavements in the newly formed courtyards on the periphery of the reformulated public spaces is a solution to problems in several different directions. In our project, we combine water-permeable and impermeable pavements (while keeping the existing concrete base). Thus, we achieve the sought-after balance of water, as one part is naturally absorbed by the terrain, and the other we manage to collect, take away and reuse for the needs of the square. The diverse treatment and separation of sub-zones is a strong gesture towards approaching the human scale. Large uniformly designed open spaces in cities create a sense of lack of belonging and create a raw, empty and unfinished atmosphere there, contradicting the natural human need for color, liveliness and dynamism. In other words, the scale of the area requires parallel accommodation of a wide range of activities, which we conventionally distinguish by changing materiality.

An important element that maintains the balance in the project is the selection of the types of paving and their ability not only to match, but also to mix and flow into each other. The grassy areas are organized along the periphery of each of the designated open urban spaces, and at the points where they meet communication arteries, they evolve into park pavements of stabilized soil (pozzolan) or are separated by a paved path of concrete slabs. The continuation of the park pavements from stabilized soil to the central areas with a squarer character is brought out as the latter are combined with ensembles of concrete slabs integrated into them. They, in turn, smoothly make the connection with the areas with polished concrete and paving. Asphalt is a finish with an important role that marks the entrances of the central area, integrating them with the external urban environment and the streets with vehicular traffic.

THE CENTRAL AXIS

A unique fact of the central part of each of the open spaces, derived both from the understanding of the importance of the center originally embedded in them in the second half of the 20th century, and from the philosophy of the current project to rethink the relationship between the center and the periphery, is the continuous pedestrian axis in the entire direction of “25-ti Septemvri” Blvd. An important aspect of our proposal is the desire to emphasize and complement this axis, in areas where it is partially disturbed. Along the entire length of the boulevard, as well as through the central area, we distinguish a definite “white” strip in the pavement with a width of 3 m. The rest of the interventions in the peripheral spaces are organized around it – the “yards” to the buildings – but it remains unchanged and continuous in its complete entirety. Functionally, it represents an artery for quick passage through the center, indicating a different pace and dynamics from those on the periphery of public spaces. Symbolically, we look at it as an “eco-path”, the transit of which allows the observer to take in the view and contemplate everything from the complex landscape unfolding around, but the deviation from which gives the opportunity to experience the uniqueness of each individual zone.

WATER AREAS AND FACILITIES

Our approach to the integrated water zones in the area is similar to that of the pavements. They are interconnected, flow into each other and change according to the area they fall into or the direction they are going. In the areas parallel to the central axis, the water areas expand and become interactive canals for recreation and children’s games. They have various facilities for children and seating arrangements for adults. The perpendicular crossing of the running lines is done with thin water arteries, which are proportioned so as not to interfere with pedestrian and bicycle traffic. They lead to micro-centers with a small water zone in a circular trough. The beginning and the end of the water zones are two leading compositional and accent interventions, located on the two squares – “Svoboda” and “Vazrazhdane”. Like many of the other interventions in the project, the water areas also contribute to the improvement of the microclimate in the central urban spaces.

Under the pavements of the square, we envisage a network of drainage installation routes that lead to a common central tank for the collection of rainwater and ground water, giving the possibility of reuse for irrigation and water attractions, which again is in the general ethos of the project that all solutions have and economic and environmental dimension.

SVOBODA SQUARE AND VAZRAZHDANE SQUARE

On “Svoboda” square we keep the position of the monument of “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”, creating a new pedestal in harmony with the overall intervention. The front of the pedestal represents a water cascade, which on the one hand introduces thematically the water zones in the other areas, while at the same time a small part of the water spills over the concrete base of the square, creating a thin water mirror, on which the richly landscaped back of the monument reflects and accordingly further accentuates it. In the wide part of the “Vazrazhdane” square, we envisage a large-scale dry fountain, which in a suitable seasonal scenario of active work would be an attractive area for children’s games and activities, but at the same time, when it is turned off, allows the use of the square in a standard form, suitable for meetings and gatherings of a large number of people. In the axis of the fountain, we place an open urban stage (podium), and the steps of the nearby building are to be rebuilt as tribunes.

COMMERCIAL AREAS

In our intervention, we strive not to limit the micro business at the local level, but on the contrary – to recognize and encourage its potential as an active participant in the formation of the urban environment, which even at the moment contributes to the revitalization of the pedestrian areas. For free-standing commercial establishments, we propose a new type of kiosks and structures, carriers of a modern architectural vision, which with their streamlined geometry allow easy passage and do not impede access to the already established commercial areas in the buildings on the periphery. We also propose in the project places for temporary Christmas or farmer’s markets, as well as free areas for other temporary attractions and recreational activities. The color and material range of the modules are drawn from the environment and interpreted in a new way. The everyday context of the urban landscape is found in a particular kind of eclectic harmony, only achievable through gradual evolution and overlay, which is why the materials of the new commercial establishments are also light and modern, deliberately unconventional for the environment, but in harmony with it. An additional aspect of the commercial kiosks is their participation in the night light landscape of the urban open spaces.

BICYCLE NETWORK
Given the scale of the project area and its previous purpose for demonstrations and parades, we believe that on a daily basis, during hours with less traffic, it would not be a problem for cyclists to move freely around the area. However, it is important to give a clear and easily readable indication of where cyclists have the right of way to avoid accidents during peak hours. The pavement, marking the bike lane, falls within the logic of the overall treatment of the pavements within the project, i.e., crossing the different zones of the designated “courtyards” at the periphery of the spaces, it evolves, but remains always distinguishable from the adjacent pavements and indicated by a pictogram.
The project envisages the bicycle artery to continue north along “25th Septemvri” Blvd., as well as west along “Bulgaria” St., which is wider and less busy than “Nezavisimost” St.

SPORT

Sport is integrated indirectly into the area through the structuring of the bike lane, which is suitable for various events, and more specifically in additional designated places we also have table tennis opportunities. In the off-season, the concrete pavements are suitable for skateboarding and other urban sports, and with the idea of intervention on the facade of the Central Mall, which the Municipality of Dobrich could propose as a form of possible public-private partnership, the program of the square spaces would also include sport climbing for children and adults.
Taking into account the positive role of living nature in urban life in general, and in the context of Dobrich – more specifically (the city park “St. George” is one of the most popular public spaces among citizens), the project leaves largely unprogrammed the possibility of a sport, based on seasonality and an awareness of the various urban rituals, associated with it (spending leisurely time outdoors in summer, enjoying spring and autumn colors, spring and winter holidays, implying social gatherings).

CHILDREN’S CORNERS AND PLAYGROUNDS
As with the other components, here we envisage many smaller corners, instead of one concentrated area with the specific function. Children’s areas with a diverse character fall in the area of the current “COOP” market, in front of the “Bulgaria” hotel, dotted around the green areas, as well as near each of the water facilities.

LIGHTING
A linear spatial element marks the boundaries and approaches in the entire “Zone B”, and besides being symbolic, its role is also to be the main carrier of the new square integrated lighting, which in a balanced way illuminates and further structures the entire area of the project interventions. We also envisage lighting integrated into the pavement of the central ‘white strip’, as well as commercial movable objects constructed of translucent material.

GREEN AREAS
The grassy areas are organized so that they do not obstruct the main running line, but at the points where they meet communication arteries, they grow into park pavements or are separated by a path made of concrete slabs. We have narrow strips along the squares, richly landscaped with decorative species. The grassing of larger areas within the project proposal is not of a decorative nature and is sought as a natural urban space freed from movable objects, intended for privacy and recreation.

AREA IN FRONT OF HOTEL BULGARIA

The space in front of “Bulgaria” hotel is the main compositional center in the project of the reconstruction of the center from the 1980s.

The design team back then included a rich program of commercial, cultural and recreational facilities expressed in the complex ensemble of underground and above ground interventions.

Over time, due to various interventions, the original appearance of the place was significantly changed. However, even today, in a chaotic manner, the place has appropriated its social function and it is a crucial part of the central area.

The interventions related to the terrain and the approach to the underground parts are key factors for its use as part of the urban fabric.

A proven good practice for enlivening central squares is the presence of social corners and small cafeterias. They are welcoming to locals and also for tourists. Their presence adds value, change the dynamics and creates a sense of community.

The design offers two separate seating areas on level zero towards the food court and on level /+1/ where the building evolves into coffee place, a children’s facility with slides, a climbing wall and the roof works as a bar- table.

LOOKING TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE OF THE CENTRAL POST STATION

In our project, we mark a bold and definitive approach that enables the central area to take another step towards improving the environment. The facade of the Dobrich Central Mall is currently not suitable to the general vision of the square space, being the only one foreign to the ensemble of other buildings. In our opinion, there is an opportunity for it to work better both in the interest of the city and in the interest of the owners and developers. We have illustrated a sscenario in which a new independent structure is being built, functioning as a climbing wall. Ground level connections are retained,as the wall is only approachable by the balcony above ground level. Natural light continues to enter the building through the perforated membrane. A place for commercial branding is planned, and we expect the entire new structure would be dressed appropriatly graphics identity of the region and the city.