About the project
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Building type: Reconstruction and renovation project
Surface: 8 345 m²
Client: UBA (Union of Bulgarian Artists)
Competition: 2014
The UBA building on 6 Shipka Street is situated in the historical center of Sofia, in the immediate vicinity of the University of Sofia Kliment Ohridski, the National Library, and the Doctors’ Garden.
The project proposes a complete reconstruction and reorganization of the exhibition complex. Besides the program’s elements, it includes a commercial “art street” and two unique multifunctional halls, located on the ground floor and the roof terrace that give the building the possibility to become a major European Art Center.
The new image of the building is charcterized by its lightness and originality. The facades are treated with high resistant textile membrane reminiscent of the white canvas on which art is born.
The new material enables original forms and expressiveness. The airy oval shapes are a metaphor of the free human spirit, of the liberated creative genius.
Only over the main entrance the veil reveals the contrasting rectangular transparent glass facade that invites us to enter the building.
The roof terrace has an amazing panoramic view toward the central part of the city. The surelevation is possible from structural point of view.
The night-lighting shows a new facade full of colors pouring on the white canvas. The transition between day and night, white and color can be perceived as an interpretation of the creative process of a painting.
The greenery in the outdoor spaces, on the ground floor and the roof terrace, connects the building to the park – the Doctors’ Garden.
