enota's reorganized pedestrian zone in slovenia includes a riverside amphitheater

enota’s reorganized pedestrian zone in slovenia includes a riverside amphitheater
photography by miran kambič

in velenje, slovenia, local studio enota has transformed an existing promenade into one of the city’s most prominent thoroughfares. traversing the river paka, the pedestrian zone extends from a parking garage, (also completed by enota), before weaving its way through the existing urban fabric. as the path twists around the surrounding buildings, it gives rise to larger contained spaces, facilitating future expansion.

the existing promenade has been transformed into one of the city’s most prominent axes

the paka is a torrential river, meaning that its watercourse swells up significantly an a few occasions, but remains relatively shallow throughout year. as a consequence, its bed is very deep and until now, the river had unfortunately remained out of sight. by narrowing the bridge and placing it off the former axis, a space has been recovered for an amphitheater, which slopes down towards the river’s surface. consequently, this nexus becomes a hub of activity, with the water once again forming a prominent part of the city.

the scheme traverses the river paka

the riverside amphitheater

the amphitheater slopes down towards the river’s surface

the site becomes a hub of activity

the bridge has been repositioned to offer better views of the river

an aerial view including the parking garage to the far left

project info:

project: velenje city center pedestrian zone
type: open competition first prize
completed: 2014
size: 17,020 sqm
budget: €2.7 million
client: velenje municipality
location: velenje, slovenia
architecture: enota
project team: dean lah, milan tomac, tjaž bauer, andrej oblak, polona ruparčič, nuša završnik šilec, alja černe, nebojša vertovšek
structural engineering: elea ic
structural engineering: nom biro
electrical planning: elsing

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