Urban furniture for Tvrđa, Osijek

New life can sprout from ruins. We wanted to permanently capture the moment of sprouting in the urban space of Osijek's Tvrđa.

The competition for the urban furniture in Tvrđa in Osijek encompassed the design of orientation boards, notice boards, guideposts, information panels, street signs and house numbers, tall and low lighting, benches, litter bins, bicycle stands and bollards. Furthermore, the competition encompassed the disposition of the urban furniture. In this entry, the disposition brings an added value: the creation of pleasant micro-ambients, both at the already renowned Holy Trinity Square and Franjo Kuhač Street, and at the underestimated locations of Water Gate (ideal for a small stage), the western entrance to Tvrđa (junction with the surrounding park) and the Vatroslav Lisinski Square (ideal for big open-air events).

The design of the urban furniture is directly inspired by the twofold character of Tvrđa: Just like, during the course of history, war destroyed Tvrđa and the presence of army brought civic prosperity to it, the urban furniture was made from pure geometric concrete forms, that acquired their functionality by the destruction of some of their parts. Thus a whole becomes a place for fixing sitting boards, or a place for fitting a notice board, or a place for placing a litter bag, or a place through which one can pass a bike chain, or a place for fitting a guidepost sign… Just like grass can find its place in a shrapnel hole.