Housing on the Slope

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Housing on the slope of Banovo brdo

Case study of everyday landscape by students of Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, Department of Landscape Architecture

Name	Housing on the slope of Banovo brdo
Location	Belgrade
Country	Serbia
Authors	Danijela Lalović, Aleksandra Obrenović, Marko Ivošević, Slobodan Mančić


<googlemap version="0.9" lat="44.77428" lon="20.418262" type="satellite" zoom="14" width="300" height="300"> 44.802416, 20.465601, Belgrade Belgrade Belgrade, Central Serbia 44.775377, 20.41852, Banovo brdo Housing on the slope of Banovo brdo, Čukarica, Belgrade </googlemap>

Short Introduction to the Area of Study

The study area is located in S-W part of Belgrade, approximately 6,5km (≈4 miles) from the center. It is a part of one of the Belgrade’s hills – Banovo brdo, and includes W and N-W hillsides with total size around 1,3km2 (≈0,5 square mile). Height distance (altitude) between the highest and the lowest spot on the slope is 70 meters. Because of the specific form of relief, direction of the streets is parallel to contour lines. Steep streets, that extend perpendicular to contours, give long-distance sights. Residential area is mainly consisted of opened and semi-opened urban blocks of medium density, local park, green market and central traffic and pedestrian spine – Pozeska Street. Because it represents community collector, Pozeska Street includes some administrative, commercial and other urban functions. Neighborhood collectors and local streets contain small, private, commercial facilities. Taking into account the value of the neighboring zones (River island Ada from North, farming fields on West and park-forest Kosutnjak on East) and peaceful, almost uniformly residential part concentrated around crowded and lively Pozeska street, it is clear that this area is probably one of a kind in Belgrade. Its specific context, relief, urban structure and presence of many utilities, provides that this area and people in it operate almost apart from rest of the city. Therefore, it would be challenge to assess and improve this unusual everyday landscape.

- Context (Location of the Area)
- Context (Location of the Area)
- Study Area

Exercise 1: Sketching the Landscape

Time frame: October 25 - November 15, 2011

Sketches and Drawings

- Conflict between multistory buildings and individual housing; Sidewalk occupied by cars
- Integrated streets; Absence of street alley, front yards as the street vegetation; Sidewalk occupied by cars; Communication infrastructure unadjusted
- Presence of geometric and irregular lines of street profile
- Pozeska street – more open than other streets on the slope; Traffic – community collector; Presence of street vegetation
- Visible different character and urban definition of the neighboring zone (Novi Beograd)

- Small passages between buildings – intimate micro ambient; Presence of street stairs – often feature on the slope
- Steep streets; Long-distance sights, view of the Novi Beograd settlement

- Area profile

Exercise 2: Landscape Layers

Time frame: November 15 - 29, 2011

Landscape biography

Importance of choosing the “Landscape biography” method: Neighboring zones had the biggest influence on development of the study area. Historical circumstances caused the urban growth; relief and environment had been natural framework for constellation of the settlement

- Layer-Cake
- Layer1
- Layer2
- Layer3
- Layer4
- Layer5

Landscape analysis - introduction study for Behavior Patterns and Assessment of coherent character

- Urban Functions
- Private/Public space
- Street typology
- Different types of sights

- Coherent character

Exercise 3: Behaviour Patterns

Time frame: December 6 - 20, 2011

Characteristic behaviour patterns

Pozeska Street is the biggest point of interest in the study area, includes the main function spots (administration, education, shopping, entertainment…)

Higher usage intensity of collector and trough steep streets that lead to collector; local streets along the contour lines with lower level of movement

Local “Integrated” streets are spontaneously formed, according to lack of public spaces

Local movement uphill by public transport, downhill mainly by walk; circulation from other parts of town to hill by public transport

Surprising behaviour patterns

Lack of children’s playgrounds – they exist in Park and in open block with new multistory buildings (SW of the area)

Local streets often used as children’s playground (integrated street)

Modern construction provides intimate micro ambient, but they are rarely used

Correspondence of space and behaviour

Small physical capacity of area; people have adapted to these conditions

The main nonconformity: lack of parking space

Streets at a greater distance from the Pozeska Street are still peaceful with low intensity of movement

- Everyday and Summertime Behavior

- Tabulation of Behaviour Patterns

- Bus stop – toward to Center
- Vehicular and Pedestrian traffic
- Weekend parking problem
- Shopping mall in Pozeska
- Street vendors in Pozeska
- Grocery and supermarkets
- Fast food shops in Pozeska
- Coffee shop on the Slope
- Park on the Slope – visited even in cold weather
- Children’s playground in Park
- Streets on the Slope – safe for children’s play
- Difficulty walking uphill – particularly for elders

Exercise 4: Communication Concepts

Time frame: December 19, 2011 - January 17, 2012

Communication concept for the landscape coherent characters

Communication concept for Park

Possibility of organizing various events: concerts, theater shows and art performances in open, different kinds of exhibitions: photo-portraits of inhabitants as well as of passersby, old photos of Banovo brdo, panorama views from Banovo brdo, children’s drawings from neighbor schools and kindergartens and professional works of students and professors of Faculty of Forestry.
Since the park is on the slope, there is possibility of building natural amphitheater for organizing all mentioned events, in order to emphasize the potential of the park for human interactions.

Communication concept for Opened blocks

There is a good practice of gardening here, that should be encouraged by the municipal authorities as well as by the professional institutions like Faculty of Forestry. Students and professors could give advices about choosing the appropriate species and locations for planting, the ways of their maintenance and achieving other functional and esthetical effects.

Communication concept for Semi-opened block

Public spaces between buildings give opportunity of posting different kinds of objects, installations and sculptures that would create more compelling and communicative micro-ambient, and without violation of its intimacy. Multitude of passages, stairways, retaining walls encourage various artistic interventions as murals, graffiti, 3D illusions. That all helps forming local identity and recognizable image of the site, and it empowers the liaisons between inhabitants and their environment.
Besides artistic interventions , sports activities like stair races could also be one of the local event that would be improve quality and intensity of living.

Communication concept for Houses - subtype A

Same as in the opened blocks and houses subtype B, gardening also occurs here, in the gardens in front of the private houses. Advices of professors and students through the public forums, terrain activities etc. could also be helpful for development of gardening, preserving the uniqueness of every garden, but creating the recognizable collective identity.
The highest points of relief, where the side streets end, are interesting viewpoints towards other parts of Belgrade. Setting benches in adequate places would stimulate the retaining of passersby in these places and it would highlight the experience offered.
Artistic interpretations and critiques of unregulated parking, using artistic objects as barricades, could force the municipal authorities to solve this problem.

Communication concept for Houses - subtype B

Long, and little bit monotone streets with low traffic intensity have the potential of forming integrated streets that would compensate the lack of public spaces. Different installations, street art, graffiti and drawings in passages and stairways, varying in shapes and forms , could also take place here.
Like as in semi-opened blocks, sport activities along the stairs could also take place here, but according to less noticeable of stairs, using different signs for emphasizing its value could also be appropriate intervention.