enota uses organically designed urban elements to delineate waterfront park in slovenia

enota, an architecture practice based in ljubljana, has completed the design of a new urban park in the slovenian port city of koper. the 26,000-square-meter park has been designed to unite its immediate surroundings, which include a waterfront promenade and a part of the town undergoing significant redevelopment. the comprehensive overhaul of the site seeks to visually and functionally connect these two separate parts of the town into a logical whole.

all images and video by miran kambič

since koper’s densely developed old town does not allow for a sufficient number of large open areas, enota’s design provides increased outdoor recreational space for the city and its citizens. ‘the new intervention offers a uniform and attractive appearance, and with its intensive hinterland greenery, it drowns the heterogeneity of the surrounding built structures,’ explains the design team.

the basic building blocks of the new city park have been conceived as monolithic and undulating urban elements. their controlled placement, in combination with the park’s topography, softly divides the site into individual islands. the design of the individual urban elements consistently follows the different program. in places, these built interventions are taller and act as a shelter from views and the noisy surroundings. elsewhere, they are lower and allow for an unimpeded contact between different areas.

the organically designed urban elements form stands for viewers, an obstacle course for children, climbing walls, a backdrop to a seaside bar, a concert venue, a children’s playground, a reading area, and more. due to the proximity of the sea, the program zones are appointed with numerous water elements. a pond, ground sprinklers, a geyser, parabolic water jets, cascades, and a water platform encourage an active use of the space and the expansion of a potential future beach towards the interior of the park.

project info:

name: koper central park
location: koper, slovenia
client: koper municipality
type: invited competition, first prize
year: 2016
status: built 2018
site: 26,000 sqm / 279,862 sqf
cost: €3 million EUR

architecture: enota
project team: dean lah, milan tomac, gregor vreš, peter karba, polona ruparčič, peter sovinc, jakob kajzer, carlos cuenca solana, nuša završnik šilec, sara mežik, eva tomac, goran djokić
greenery: spicy garden
collaborators: ivan ramšak s.p. (structural engineering), nom biro (mechanical services), nom biro (electrical installations)
photography: miran kambič