uRED Architecture

The project for the urban center in Kostrena, Croatia, is centered on the remnant of the stone quarry, its cavity now used as a boat yard and a parking lot.

Kostrena, a maritime village next to the large port city of Rijeka, is gaining prominence and prosperity after the recent redistricting made it into one of the wealthiest municipalities in Croatia. The former fishermen and seafarers' village is suddenly seeking to attain its urban soul by building its own civic center.

The quarry shell is featured as the center and focal point of the new urban centrifugal force. The water is brought into a carved-out central basin, and scalloped buildings rise in a fan-like array around the circular public promenade. They lean against the carved-out limestone cliffs, following the geometry of centrifugal force lines to figuratively climb up to the main urban plane.

The central void of the basin is thus offset from the adjacent rectangular plateau of the town center’s verdant campus. Its civic buildings spread out freely, while still pulled geometrically to their centrifugal origin below.