Stefano Boeri Architetti, an Italian architectural and urban design firm renowned for its planning projects in metropolitan cities like Cancun, Cario, Geneva, and Naples, has won Penta Real Estate’s Urban Oasis project competition for the masterplan of Chalupkova, a significant 3-hectare site in central Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
Despite being close to Bratislava, Chalupkova is one of the largest abandoned neighborhoods in the city, formerly a thriving industrial region that was one of the areas that got affected by air raids during World War II. The primary goal of the project is urban rehabilitation; this long-abandoned neighborhood is located near the historic Danube, which is the second-longest river in Europe.
The winning plan for the project includes five buildings which consist of a prominent tower and four medium-density structures encircling a central public park. These buildings will house 1,300 apartments, with a theme of creating a secret garden ambience for all its residents while offering diverse housing options.
The jury selected Stefano Boeri’s project from 83 proposals from architectural firms such as BIG, Gensler, MAD Architects, MVRDV, and others. They appreciated Boeri’s master plan proposal because of the integration of traditional European architectural elements, featuring stone and brick facades complemented by greenery, creating a contemporary design.
The Urban Oasis project brings to a country that is winning the challenge of integration into Europe, an innovative residential district developed around a large public garden with high biodiversity. Urban Oasis best represents the challenges of the contemporary world without forgetting the Central European architectural tradition. Bratislava will thus take a step forward towards the model of a metropolitan archipelago: a city where neighborhoods are hubs of clean energy production, with the variety of functions and inhabitants typical of European cities and the living nature of plants at their center and on the facades of buildings.
Stefano Boeri
The urban oasis focuses on sustainability, emphasising the need for eco-friendly mobility, pedestrian and bicycle paths across the development. Green roofs, permeable pavements, and the use of solar panels across 4,600 square metres of available rooftop space are one of the few examples of how the planning attempts to combine modern elements in an European setup.
The green ring is positioned to create a buffer between the residential section and the main road, while the central green space connects to other green areas throughout the development. This approach supports local biodiversity, creating a balanced microclimate to prevent the urban heat island effect.
The building design prioritises varying heights of the structures creating green public and private terraces. Facades of the structures feature varied designs and irregularities to mitigate noise pollution caused by the high-traffic roads around the site, still imparting a dynamic look to the neighbourhood.
Until recently, the institute of architectural and urban planning competitions with similar international participation, scope, and quality was not common in Bratislava. Today, the situation is different, and the participation of foreign studios highlights the growing potential and significance of our capital city. I firmly believe that the Chalupkova zone, one of Bratislava’s most prestigious locations near the city center, definitely deserved an architectural competition.
Managing Director of Penta Real Estate Slovakia, Juraj Nevolník
The project is currently in the first phase of its construction and is expected to be completed over the next 10 years, reviving Chalupkova from a former industrial centre to a future-proof residential and commercial area.
