Belgrade, Serbia, has become somewhat of an architecture hot spot lately — first with Sou Fujimoto’s cyclone-styled Beton Hala Waterfront Center, and now with Zaha Hadid’s masterplan for the the decrepit Beko factory near downtown’s cultural district. The new Beko aims to transform the defunct industrial complex into an enormous city center with residential, retail, and commercial spaces, a convention center, and even a five-star boutique hotel that stands along the historic Kalemegdan Castle wall. The development will be oh-so Hadid, with the architect’s signature bends and curves. Read more!

Hadid’s design comprises many structures all connected to create one continuous unit. Public and private spaces weave in and out, up and down, and throughout the looped walls that seamlessly meld with the nearby landscape’s rolling hills. A “pinch” in the center connects each of the inner buildings together at ground level, and generates an hourglass-shaped green area lightly lined with man-made benches and walls that echo the curvature of the buildings.

Images courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

[via designboom]

by Molly Cotter

posted in Uncategorized

tagged Beko, Belgrade, Serbia, zaha hadid

more articles by Molly Cotter