1804 Secondary City Center, Sofia

Site issues: The railway lines are a divider that restricts the development of the north side. The main city districts and historical centre remain in the southern part. The quality of the environment is drastically decreased due to extensive noise, pollution coming from the northern industrial zones and intensive transport. Another huge site disadvantage is the lack of activities to attract the people due to the limited social, cultural, sports and science infrastructures. The lacks of regulations, not only in the social and urban aspects but also in services and tax policy, have an extremely negative impact on the development of the area. Potential development of the site: The main benefit of the area is the Railway Station where a large number of passengers commute and the stocks exchange flow. The residential buildings with a classic architectural appearance dating back to 19th century. Neglected and abundant industrial areas with and without buildings on site. Empty plots. Potential transport and communication links between the south and the north side of Sofia Discharging the objectives: Connecting the people with the district and increasing the time they spent in the area Attracting new social groups, services, creating new jobs and trade Improving the quality of the urban realm Proposed solutions: Improving the transport links and infrastructure of the city. Creating underground vehicle tunnels to connect southern side with the northern one, a pedestrian routes between the front and the rear Railway Station areas. Forming a coherent and an active city centre giving opportunities for modern developments. New regulations regarding to the future developments affecting the business, retail amenities and services as well as the quality of living, and enhancing the local economy. Providing conditions to attract new visitors from different social groups. Realised by creating two generators to gather large-scale - Balkan Cultural and Innovative Centre and multipurpose public space “The Container”. Those will boost different forms of local social entrepreneurship (mainly in the southern areas), therefore, improve the living standard of the residence and the architectural fabric. The proposal gives solutions for the above issues - CREATING A SECONDARY URBAN CENTRE, by three main methods: Realisation in phases Providing regulations Developing the potentials The three phases are based on the modern technological views, ecological perspectives of the future and the quote from the book “Winnie-The-Pooh”, stating “The more, the better.” The regulations aim to encourage the use of public spaces and to improve the way the private land is occupied. All of these achieved by economic mechanisms, social and tax policy. The development of the potentials also follows the famous quote “Make a use of disadvantages.” They are focused on future of the high-speed railway infrastructure and transforming the area into passenger and logistics centre.