Libeskind to Design “City on Water” in Belgrade

Although it has its preliminary name, “City on Water”, city officials are looking at the project as an opportunity for a big investment in very center of the city of Belgrade and on the bank of the Danube River.

The master plan dictates a building of 2,200,000 square meters of business and residential areas, situated on land covering 96 hectares. The project includes not only new interesting skyscrapers but also Jan Gehl’s plan to revitalize the space within this city. Many green areas and parks will be added to the city, as well as major limitations on car traffic, so that pedestrians and cyclists could be given an advantage.



This common trend in today’s urbanism of bringing the people and cities closer to water would make Belgrade a favorable location for future investments and visits.

It is the first time these two architects are working together and that work has been done simultaneously on this project as one project. Collaboration has been very close so that everything has been included in the master plan that was suggested by both architects. This created development strategy, which is now a major vision for this project. 85 hectares of developed land and 11 developed on the water basin. The plan is divided between 30% for residential area, 30% for business area, with the remaining intended for green and water areas, roads and infrastructure.

The project will be carried out in phases. There will be five phases and they will be in five years length depending on needs and market. The future City on Water will be located on the right bank of the Danube River, in the place where Port of Belgrade is currently located. Besides residential and business facilities, there will also be cultural facilities, congress centre, school, nursery, and hotels.

The skyscraper, designed as a jewel in which two rivers, the Danube and the Sava, meet will be 250 meters tall. Everything is planned as a fusion of strategies of sustainable development, authentic Belgrade and Belgrade full of life. The project should employ around 100,000 people, out of which 45,000 would be newly employed labor.
-- Damir Sisirak, M. Arch. Student from Slovenia

Images from Studio Daniel Libeskind: Belgrade