Today, over half of people live and work in towns, cities or conurbations. Consequently, one key task for the future is to develop established urban areas further via infrastructural, economic and ecological measures.
Bratislava – the city that confidently declares itself “the greenest capital in Europe”. Around 0.44 million people live here and the city is also home to the ambitious SKY PARK project, an example of the successful integration of major new projects in such a process of development. The world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid and her team provided the design for the project which, at 30,000m2, is a similar size to the historical city center itself. Despite this, it is not intended to exert its dominance, but rather to express an affinity with its wider surroundings.
“It is no coincidence that the SKY PARK is green. It forms part of a system of accessible oases in the city, becoming an integral component of this,” says Dušan Ševela, head of design development at Penta Real Estate. The relationship between buildings and green space is correspondingly balanced and fulfils the ecological demands for an optimal inner city micro-climate.
The challenge was to organically integrate the various urban functional areas such as housing, work, shopping, special functions and leisure. “The diversity and at the same time the unity of these functions have the potential for a pioneering development. Therefore, in addition to the architects of the ZHA studio, landscape architects Townshend were also involved in the design and landscaping. The concentration of creative energies in the park was a good decision,” notes Dušan Ševela.
The consistent location of many infrastructural and utility functions underground enabled the planners to make the green areas of this public space unusually generous. Consequently, it proved possible to create a large leisure area with a broad range of options for use for the most diverse interests.
DÖRKEN was able to make a key contribution to the functional safety and permanence of the key creative project elements of façades and green areas.