Podgorica Square

The Podgorica Square competition proposal addresses a public space beside the city’s main bus and railway stations. It seeks to turn a transit-dominated setting into a more legible place for arrival, waiting and everyday civic activity.

The design retains movement as a defining part of the brief. It combines passenger facilities with public uses so that the square can serve residents as well as travellers.

Location: Podgorica, Montenegro
Client: Golootočkih Žrtava Square Competition
Type: Urban Design, Competition Entry
Status: Competition Proposal
Year: 2021
Principal: Ibrahim Nawaf Joharji
Scope: Urban Planning, Public Space Design, Landscape

A family of domed pavilions defines the square’s edges. Their related but varied forms draw on the geometry of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. The proposed lightweight ETFE enclosures introduce sheltered points of reference around the open public space.

Two larger pavilions mark the central arrival zone. One leads to the proposed underground circulation level; the other houses a visitor centre. Stairs, escalators and lifts connect these levels, while the parking programme is arranged below the square.

A patterned ground plane brings the different parts of the site into one composition. The proposed basalt paving draws on an abstracted image of the cathedral, linking the principal plaza to the smaller commercial and hospitality spaces at its edge.

The intervention also considers the existing bus station and surrounding low-rise buildings. A new facade treatment, selective renovation and planted bands extend the public-space design beyond the central open area.

Trees, seating and water features support everyday occupation alongside larger events. The proposal separates the movement of vehicles from the surface of the square so that arrival infrastructure and civic life can coexist without competing for the same ground.

Podgorica Square: Interior visualization of the stair below a circular roof opening — Interior visualization of the stair below a circular roof opening.

Podgorica Square: Urban analysis of paths, edges, nodes, districts and landmarks — Urban analysis of paths, edges, nodes, districts and landmarks.

Podgorica Square: Exploded diagram of the square's landscape and circulation layers — Exploded diagram of the square's landscape and circulation layers.

Podgorica Square: Visualization of the central stair and patterned enclosure — Visualization of the central stair and patterned enclosure.

Podgorica Square: Visualization of the proposed lower-level transport space — Visualization of the proposed lower-level transport space.

Podgorica Square: Plan of the square and its connections to the surrounding streets — Plan of the square and its connections to the surrounding streets.

Podgorica Square: Night aerial visualization of pavilions and planted routes — Night aerial visualization of pavilions and planted routes.

Podgorica Square: Stair and escalator visualization beneath curved ceiling ribs — Stair and escalator visualization beneath curved ceiling ribs.

Podgorica Square: Night visualization of seating and water features — Night visualization of seating and water features.

Podgorica Square: Visualization of outdoor dining along the square's edge — Visualization of outdoor dining along the square's edge.

Podgorica Square: Daytime view of the public square and central pavilion — Daytime view of the public square and central pavilion.

Podgorica Square: Site analysis of sun, access, streets and existing elements — Site analysis of sun, access, streets and existing elements.

Podgorica Square: Intervention diagrams distinguishing retention, removal and new work — Intervention diagrams distinguishing retention, removal and new work.

Podgorica Square: Aerial visualization of the square and its curved pavilions — Aerial visualization of the square and its curved pavilions.

Podgorica Square: Overall night visualization of the square — Overall night visualization of the square.

Podgorica Square: White contextual model of the proposed public space — White contextual model of the proposed public space.

Related project: Chicago CTA Stations.