Improving Sarajevo’s resilience through urban regeneration: Skenderija complex - Considerations for future development

This report focuses on the Skenderija Complex in Sarajevo City Center. Built in 1969, the Skenderija Complex was conceived as a symbol of modern Yugoslavia – a sports, cultural and trade center in the heart of the city. Home to the 1984 Winter Olympics, the complex still holds important national significance. During the Bosnian War, the site suffered significant damage. Over the past decade, there have been several revitalization attempts, including a 2008 Masterplan which was not widely supported and did not move forward. This report lays the foundation for a new regeneration process that has recently been initiated, placing the site in its wider city context and summarizing the key challenges that needs to be addressed in its redevelopment. Given Sarajevo’s vulnerability to natural hazards (earthquakes, urban flooding) and other potential risks, the report includes a focus on identifying how regeneration proposals can incorporate measures to build greater levels of resilience – for the site and the wider city.

Building on the analysis, the report sets out a series of key considerations to optimize the future development potential of the complex, summarized below:

1. Invest and restore the public realm and surrounding landscape to create new inviting places where the people of Sarajevo would want to visit and dwell by creating a new public plaza and a network of connected green corridors that extend beyond the site.
2. Reinforce sports and wellbeing as an anchor by creating a center of sport, health and wellbeing that will serve both elite athletes, sports clubs and the community. This should be combined with commercial uses to ensure fi nancial sustainability.
3. Inject commercial content to boost vitality and viability to enhance and diversify revenue generation as well as activate the spaces.
4. Build stronger partnerships and invite academic, cultural and hospitality partners to enhance the offer and the visitors’ experience.