The winner of the open international competition for the conceptual design of a pedestrianbridge over South Park in Sofia has been announced. Boele Architects from the Czech Republic were selected by the international jury, which convened at the offices of the Contracting Authority – Sofia Municipality’s Department of Architecture and Urban Planning.
The second and third place were respectively awarded to Mio Design Ltd, represented byArch. Orlin Davchev and Andonov & Sons Design Ltd, represented by Arch. Andon Andonov.
The winner of the competition Boele Architects is a studio based in Prague and London, working in the field of architecture and urban planning. They have designed projects onvarious scales and of different typologies, from smaller residential buildings to large buildingcomplexes and urban redevelopment. The team works under the supervision of architectPavel Fajfr, who has many years of experience in architecture in the Czech context, andarchitect Petr Šuma, who has extensive experience in foreign studios.
The participants in the competition were required to present a conceptual proposal for the volumetric and spatial design of a new pedestrian link between two separate segments of South Park. The aim is to provide a natural and unobstructed connection at a different levelfrom the vehicular traffic, which would encourage and facilitate pedestrian and bicycle flowsin the park area, thus improving access to green spaces for the citizens and visitors of Sofia.
The construction of the new bridge and the regeneration of the adjacent area will completethe merger of the three zones: South Park – Part One (the space around the National Palace ofCulture), South Park – Part Two and South Park – Part Three into one continuous and large-scale urban recreational space.
The proposals of the participants were examined and evaluated by an international jurycomposed of Arch. Jesper Dahl – Head of the Urban Planning Department of the Municipalityof Frederiksberg, Denmark, Arch. Milutin Folić – former Chief Architect and Urban Plannerof the City of Belgrade, Arch. Resul Emrah Şahan – Chairman of the Istanbul PlanningAgency and Chairman of the Board of Directors of BİMTAŞ, Arch. Vasil Vasilev – representative of the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria, Arch. Lydia Lazarova – representative of the Union of Architects in Bulgaria, Arch. Prof. Dr. Eng. Darina Nitova – representative of the Chamber of Engineers in Investment Design, Prof. Dr. Eng. GeorgiLinkov – representative of the Chamber of Builders in Bulgaria, Arch. Ivaylo Petkov – Chairman of the Standing Committee on Spatial Planning, Architecture and Housing Policy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arch. Yassen Kyosev – representative of the University of Architecture, CivilEngineering and Geodesy, Arch. Vladimir Vladov – Chief Architect of Triaditsa District – Sofia, Maria Mehandjieva – Chief Legal Advisor at Sofia Municipality, Department ofArchitecture and Urban Planning.
According to the competition regulations, in addition to the provided prizes of BGN 20 000, BGN 15 000 and BGN 10 000, the winner shall also receive an invitation to prepare aninvestment project including all necessary parts in the detailed design phase.
