€ 200 million, would stimulate the current local architectural practice, would invest
in the central part of the city and remove some dilapidated buildings from the close
environment. The negative critics refer on the other side to the inappropriateness
of the modern structure in the historic area, the inadequate dimension of the
complex in relation to the Belgrade Fortress, the treatment of the block rather
than the entire immediate environment, the endangered view axes of the city, the
traffic problems as well as the cost effectiveness of the venture.
Following the explained analytical framework defined by the competitive identity
communication model and Anholt’s 3-segment tool, we can conclude that the
project has its primary communication in the domains of the organisation and
behaviour. It is positive in the sense of the efficient administration apparatus to
meet the demands of the investors, and negative in the aspect of the treatment
of the public interest and citizen participation. A landscape strategy is missing
because the development is still in its project phase and could be characterised
only as a secondary communication for the city’s identity in future. The symbolic
action can be seen in the character of the project and its positioning on one
of the most important locations in the city. Considering the above, the Beko
Master Plan could be currently marked as propaganda, because it is based on a
strategic and planning document and is a symbolic action, but still misses some
main parts of the substance.
The City on Water – Belgrade Port project concerns the right bank of the Danube
River where the Port of Belgrade is currently located. The project is designed in
collaboration of the architects Daniel Libeskind and Jan Gehl.^54 It was presented
to the public as the first significant step in activating the great potential Belgrade,
which stems from its rivers and as a contribution to Belgrade’s transformation to
a European capital with a unique and recognizable identity.^55
The idea for the improvement of the site and its development as the new
centre was initially defined in the first version of the Spatial Plan for Belgrade
2021,^56 but didn’t include the Port of Belgrade. The Spatial Plan has providend
a public professional survey for the location carried out by the Urban Institute
of Belgrade in the form of an invited competition for five public professional
institutions: the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Belgrade, the
Association of Urban Planners of Belgrade, the Architectural Association of
Belgrade, the Academy of Architecture and the Architect’s Club. The teams
delivered in December 2006 five visions for the future transformation of the
470 hectares large territory including the area of the Port of Belgrade.
The Urban Institute of Belgrade continued with a Programme for the
Development of Ada Huja including the areas alongside the Danube right bank.
The program was followed by changes and amendments of the Spatial Plan.^57
The Belgrade Port Company, which since has been privatized, started in
2008 own activities for finding the best solution for the area. In the course
Belgrade: The quest for the desired city image