New urban ‘whole’ of BTC City in the making
On 22 October 2007, the Ljubljana city council adopted a draft of modifications to the area specific building code for the entire spatial urban BTC area. The document, if finally adopted in the further proceedings, will enable better and higher quality use of space for realizing two great projects in the area of BTC City – a new commercial high-rise and a hotel. New top-quality urban and architectural concepts are of extreme importance for the future development of BTC City, which, thanks to its content and expansiveness, ranks among the largest business, shopping, recreational and entertainment centres in Europe.
The dynamic development of BTC, encouraged both by incessant endeavours to supplement and improve its existing offerings and increasing numbers of visitors, is drawing it towards realizing the two new projects. Their first-rate architectural concepts closely intertwine the development of the BTC company. The Company places great emphasis on building a new, 20-story high-rise on the western outskirts of the City, between Hall A and the existing high-rise. To develop innovative and creative architectural solutions, the company invited 8 architects from the following bureaus: Biro 71, Atelje S, Eko Art, AA kultura, Sadar Vuga arhitekti, PB Velenje and Arhe.
The invited architects responded with works now exhibited in the atrium of the Magistrate. With the help of suggestions and opinions of experts and the broader public, an outline solution will be chosen after the exhibition ends. The finished project will give the space a new identity, enriching and rounding out the existing business buildings along Šmartinska cesta street.
As a result, a new “urban” atmosphere will develop, supported by external design – among others an appropriate instalment of environmentally friendly green park surfaces. The new high-rise will encompass approximately 25,000 m2 of commercial venue space on the ground floor, a mezzanine and 20 floors, as well as three basements with approximately 19,000 m2 of parking space for about 650 cars. The building will be 85 to 90 metres high and will be intended not only for first-class business activities of all kinds (commercial, relaxation, business, culinary, etc.), but some of the space in the building will be devoted to culture. Apart from providing more commercial venues, the building in question represents an architectural element, a new heart of the City and richer content. The new business high-rise will join the existing 13-story building; the BTC Company will thus have at its disposal as much as 50,000 m2 of quality commercial venue space, predominantly intended for business activities.
The modified spatial documents will also enable a more suitable and higher quality use of space on the eastern outskirts of BTC City and between the Bratislavska cesta street and Kolosej multiplex, where an area dedicated to entertainment, recreation and relaxation has been taking shape for several years. A hotel should definitely be included among the area’s facilities to provide a welcome solution for businesspeople during the week and for tourists and guests hungry for some fun over the weekend. A strong European “city” urgently needs accommodation to give a boost to its entertainment. Apart from the ground floor the hotel will feature 17 floors, and with 14,000 m2 it will provide enough space for about 300 rooms.
The high-rise and the hotel will make the eastern part of Ljubljana, which is becoming increasingly more connected to the city centre, much more urban. The locations for both newly planned buildings are exceptional, since they lie along the way from the eastern city bypass to the city centre. In the near future, according to the letter of intent signed by the Municipality of Ljubljana and some other investors, the corridor will gradually change its image from the road entering the city of today to a real boulevard, a new symbol of the capital.
Sector for Marketing Communications and Public Relations,
BTC, d.d.
