Croatia: CIP Talks and new architecture

Oct 2009

Zamet Center / 3LHD

During these days I´m in Zagreb, Croatia, participating at CIP Talks 2009, an architecture conference organized by CIP Magazine. The list of lecturers at the conference include renowned architects, such as Mauricio Pezo & Sofía von Ellrichshausen (PvE), Jan Neutelings (Neutelings & Riedjik), Mark Lee (Johnston & MarkLee, interview here), Shohei Shigematsu (OMA, interview here), Carme Pinós, Arnaud Billard (Transsolar), Mikkel Frost (CEBRA), STUDIO UP (winners of the Emerging Architect MvE Award with their Gymnasium), Joseph Grima (Director of the Storefront Gallery, interview here), among other european and US architects.

Also, during these days we find the Croatian Architectural Triennale, the launch of Pogledaj.to a new local website for architecture, a new book on Croatian architecture, the opening of a new pavilion on the center of the city… an intense dose of architecture that we will be reporting during the following days.

Pope John Paul II Chapel / Randic Turato

I will be visiting and interviewing local practices such as 3LHD, Randic Turato, Studio UP, Njiric + Njiric, and more, to bring you more and more projects.

Yesterday I went to the coastal city of Rijeka, and visited three interesting projects by 3LHD and Randic Turato. See the photographs after the break, and expect the usual complete posting with all the info on these projects sometime during this week.

Memorial Bridge / 3LHD

The Memorial Bridge remembers the Croatian Soldiers (Most Hrvatskih Branitelja), and connectes the historic center with an adjacent parking area that will become a park in the future. The bridge is the result of an open competition in 1997. It was completely built at a nearby shipyard, and transported to the site.

Memorial Bridge / 3LHD

Pope John Paul II / Randic Turato

Pope John Paul II Chapel / Randic Turato

The chapel is located right next to the Our Lady of Trast church, an important religious place visited by several pilgrims. The brick volume sits on top of a concrete structure, which has a portico on a side with voids that serve as confession chambers during pilgrimage.

Pope John Paul II Chapel / Randic Turato

The chapel is wrapped in a pixelated brick skin, and changes on the arrangement of the bricks bring natural light to the interior.

Pope John Paul II Chapel / Randic Turato

Zamet Center / 3LHD

This center includes a public square, a Sports center, a public library and shops. This new urban piece connects the complex topography of Zamet, a district inside Rijeka. A pentagonal stone pattern covers both ground, walls and roofs, and the variation of tone gives dynamism to this project.

Zamet Center / 3LHD

The interior of the sports center is flexible, and while it is aimed for training, it can also hosts matches, shows and other activities. The differences between the “fingers” of the project bring natural light into the interior.

Pattern Zamet Center / 3LHD

Library at the Zamet Center / 3LHD

Cafeteria Zamet Center / 3LHD

Zamet Center / 3LHD

17 comments »

João says:

The flooring material is very powerful

# October 1, 2009 at 11:06

Balkan says:

brick building is beatufill:) The rest is very cool too for this region of the world. Svaka cast:)

# October 1, 2009 at 16:59

billy says:

Love the project-
Very beautiful.

# October 1, 2009 at 22:42

Cameron says:

Would love to see some more interiors of the chapel. Especially the play of light from the pixelated skin.
Love the exterior appeal.

# October 1, 2009 at 23:11

raymond says:

as the pope himself, very humble.. yet striking!

# October 1, 2009 at 23:49

What?
Your kiding, right?

# October 21, 2009 at 09:32

guaishi says:

Would love to see some more interiors of the chapel. Especially the play of light from the pixelated skin.
Love the exterior appeal

# October 2, 2009 at 06:07

3G says:

# October 2, 2009 at 06:08

three zed says:

I was fortunate enough to catch a couple of lectures by mr. Idis Turato, and the story of the chapel is simple and beautiful as the building itself. I have only respect for both mr. Randic and mr. Turato….

(and I love the fact that they are both so rock n’ roll….google for what they’ve done with a local band called LET3, I promise it’s a great surprise)

As Balkan said above – svaka cast, momci! :)

# October 2, 2009 at 06:12

Yorik says:

Very interesting article and very good projects! I love to read about architecture from not-so-often-mentioned places…

# October 2, 2009 at 15:41

oscar falcón lara says:

Wow, very inspiring post, there is much to see in Croatia, awesome designers.

# October 6, 2009 at 01:32

lee says:

兴奋

# October 6, 2009 at 10:44

ronin says:

The name of the city where the projects of 3LHD and Randic&Turato are is RIJEKA, and the complex where the chappel is is TRSAT, also in Rijeka… Croatian architecture is quite interesting, you should google it if you are interested. It is very strange that such small country has that strong and “international” architesture…

# October 14, 2009 at 09:13

salvadore says:

peter eisenman!

# October 18, 2009 at 11:43

Sergio says:

Most je jako glup, kao da i nije most, a kapela posebno, posto je kao neka supica za biciklove, a ne kapela. Dok je ovaj sportski centar, ili sta vec – kao skejt park sa gomilu rampi :)
Sve potpuno beskorisno i bezveze.
Jedino su materijali ekstra… kamen, plocice i ostalo – stvarno vrh!

# October 18, 2009 at 18:11

T says: