Opening the city to the sea

Location of the public territory: The alley between First Buna and Fisherman’s Beach

Current situation: The area in question is the strongest link between the sea and the network of urban pedestrian areas. This is the only place in the city where the promenade passes directly to the beach, without being separated from buildings, restaurants or other commercial sites. Unfortunately, 40 parking spaces and constantly passing cars lower the value of the space. They take away the opportunity to place benches and greenery and ennoble the space for walks. They even reduce profits for the beach establishments, which could make a row of tables looking at the sea, instead of parked cars.

Project idea: The alley between First Buna and Fisherman’s Beach to be a pedestrian space. To open the city to the sea. Restrict car access west of First Rebellion. To improve the spaces free from parking. To add greenery and seating opportunities. Parking should be to the east.

About the author: Architect Maxim Nedkov was born in 1989 in the city of Varna. In 2008 he left for Munich and in 2014 he graduated as an architect at the Technical University of Munich. As a student he worked in the Department of Load-bearing Structures under Prof. Rainer Bartel and in the architectural office “Lance Architect”. In 2014 he started working as an architect in the design bureau “Lanz Architect”, under the project BWM Classic. In 2016 he returned to Varna and worked as a technical manager. Since 2017 he has been a freelance architect. Contact: maxi_m@abv.bg.

We are also waiting for your suggestions for the initiative “What does EcoVarna look like” at e-mail: ecovarna.info@gmail.com.

Projects must:

– to ensure a balance between natural and anthropogenic factors and to create preconditions for sustainable development of Varna;

– to contain a short explanatory part about the location of the public territory, its current state and vision for its future development;

– to be accompanied by a visualization – a photo of the current state of the place and a color sketch, a diagram of the future;

– be accompanied by a short CV of the author;

The projects will be published in the cause “Urban Development” on the site ecovarna.info. After the completion of the initiative (until the collection of 12 project ideas) they will be submitted to the Union of Architects – Varna. All 12 ideas of “What EcoVarna looks like” will be presented in an official exhibition during the civic forum “Conference on Democracy 2021”, which is held annually on the last Saturday of February.

What EcoVarna Looks Like is part of the Active for Public Spaces initiative.

Translator: Valentina Vagge