Urbomorphological structure of remembrance in Student square, Belgrade

Abstract

In the context of modern city development, a significant aspect in urban planning consists of elements of the identity of the place. The historical cores of European cities, such as Belgrade, have a large number of overlapping layers of heritage in public spaces, which cannot always be physically marked due to lack of physical space, or due to the high diversity of required spatial information for an understanding of the entirety of the site. In the urban design of such densely built heterogeneous environments, it is necessary to identify and define the factors of identity, local culture and places of remembrance, to use as guidelines for the planning of sustainable public spaces, related to the local context. Elements of the city's identity, in this case, include historical and architectural heritage and urban memory, as well as traditional and cultural patterns specific to individual communities. The paper aims to identify spatial patterns and ways of interaction with heritage sites and urban memory in Belgrade, on the territory of Student Square, one of the oldest parts of Belgrade, with the highest variety of overlapped layers. The palimpsest method analysis along with the analysis of interaction and morphology of existing monuments and memorials provides new insight to identifying and designing the unmarked "invisible" heritage sites, which cannot be marked with physical landmarks and the specific identity elements that can’t be perceived within the urban tissue today. These "invisible" places whose traces exist in urban tissue need to be presented in public spaces, in a way that does not burden physical space, i.e. enable the multi-level interaction of the visible and invisible urban memory with the user of space through digital media.