Park Kneževa Residential Block

Park Kneževa Residential Block provides a pedestrian link between Branimirova and Bornina Streets and access to public facilities in the block interior. Buildings inside the block are surrounded by a park and interact with the greenery due to their variable heights and floor plans. In terms of content, it unites several typologies: housing, business premises and an urban park.

The project is located in a downtown block in Zagreb, near the railway, bounded by Branimirova, Bornina, Domagojeva and Erdödyeva Streets. It is the area of the residential and industrial block of the former Nada Dimić factory and Penkala factory. Since the factories closure in the 1990s, the buildings in the zone between the two streets have deteriorated and have been removed. This created a large empty space in the very center of the city, which enabled high-quality urban-architectural intervention.

The analysis of Zagreb’s tradition of lower town blocks, with public passages that are always present in them, tall buildings and parks inside, has resulted in the concept of a new green urban block. The quality of the structure of the blocks in the center of Zagreb, which inspired the project, allows for a pleasant urban life, unique lifestyle and cultural opportunities within a dense urban area. It is a site where various typologies are present: housing, commercial premises and recreation areas.

The block is surrounded from the south and north by classic interpolations on Branimirova and Bornina streets, through which the pedestrian connection between the two streets is realized.

The basic idea of the new block is the pedestrian connection of two streets, clear visibility and access to the city and the block, the creation of a new large green area – an inner urban park. The introduction of the park raises the quality of housing not only for the residents, but also for the inhabitants of the surrounding buildings.

The project includes several different housing typologies. Two-story houses in a row with a front garden (the so-called townhouse) allow a very high-quality life in contact with the ground. There are also apartments with larger terraces that increase the quality of life outdoors, apartments with large loggias, overlooking the city, and largest apartments on the top floor, with terraces and a view of the whole of Zagreb.

The exceptional quantity of greenery in the surroundings, and on the façade, in the form of a vertical garden, provides a unique living experience and is the main feature of this project.

Many plants, even on the green roofs, and numerous planters on all levels of the structure, together with the watering and drainage system, provide a special sight and experience and create a unique green oasis for living.

The sustainability of the greenery is ensured by a horticulture project and the application of innovative technical solutions. The plants, that are considered to be outer elements of the building and a part of the façade, are cared for by the investor’s facility management company, in order to continue to be of the highest quality throughout the lifetime of the building.

The planting of climbing plants that enrich the façades contributes to the protection and to a more pleasant micro-climate, helps to fight climate warming and reduces the appearance of so-called heat islands. In summertime, excessive heating of the walls is prevented, and evergreen climbers act as an insulation in the winter months and reduce the heating costs. Trees and other greenery collect dust particles and bind carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. A total of 57,000 seedlings of various species were planted in the whole project.