Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects (MBB) has recently revealed its competition-winning design for the final phase of Garitage Park, a 41-acre complex in a growing district of Sofia, Bulgaria. The extensive mixed-use development by Garitage Investment Management, among several other major multinational companies developing nearby, will provide residences, a school, office, commercial, retail and event spaces to a large international population of residents.
The two 270,000-square-foot residential towers showcase east and west "active facades" that incorporate a system of sliding perforated metal screens, providing controlled daylighting to the residences as well as framed views to Bulgaria's snow-capped Vitosha Mountains.
A 538,000-square-foot commercial tower located at the main entrance to the site houses various shops and restaurants with event spaces at the base. The way the buildings engage the ground plane on multiple levels is meant to "concentrate activity and invite community participation," says Taylor Aikin, AIA, an Associate at MBB.
Within the winning design, there is also a combination of gathering spaces like lawns, a skating rink and play fountains. Key design objectives include creating "a grand point of arrival, a sense of enclosure and human scale between the towers and to design the towers themselves with a focus on the pedestrian experience" without compromising the quality of the spaces themselves.
The master plan and first phase of the complex were designed by Stephen George International, and the second and third phases designed by Sofia-based Planning Architectural Studio. MBB has acted as design architect for the new K-8 school in the third phase of the project and will also collaborate with Planning Architectural Studio as the architect of record for the fourth and final phase.
"The preceding phases, currently under construction, include 375,000 square feet of midrise commercial development, 235,000 square feet of midrise multi-family apartments and townhouses, a 32,000-square-foot sports complex and a 215,000-square-foot international K-8 school."
News via: MBB.
