Almaš Neighbourhood

Regeneration, yes, but based on materials that save the planet’s resources and at the same time ensure the beauty of the architectural features. This was the motto behind the renovation project for the Almaš Neighbourhood, where green spaces want to be called by their names. With families in mind who are looking for a place to live and people who have given a lot to the land, the space wants to embrace a nostalgic feeling, welcoming tradition and, at the same time, everything modern that can be added to it. This is a project that results from the harmonious dialogue between secondary, intermediate and auxiliary areas, where both the facades and the identity of the neighbourhood itself are preserved.

A welcoming and comforting neighbourhood. At the same time, minimalist and refined. These are the plans that Architectural Studio DBA has for Almaš, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Novi Sad, Serbia. But let’s get to that later, because first we want to introduce you to the virgin land. 
Marked by intertwining streets, houses grouped by numbers and winding roads, the area offers favourable cultural, political and social circumstances for those who want to settle in a quiet corner with a wealth of services to meet the needs of everyday life. The neighbourhood is said to be exactly as it was shown on the 1975 maps drawn up by engineer Anton Kaltschmidt, and to this day it remains delimited by the Marija Trandafil square and streets, such as Temerinska and Dorđa Rajkovića. Perhaps the most curious thing is the labyrinthine aspect that the alleyways reveal, closely linked to the personality of the Almaš residents, or at least that is how the legend of the place goes, which makes an analogy between the labyrinth and the problems that the residents always tend to zigzag. What is certain is that this irregularity can be justified by the hydrogeological factor and the characteristics that the terrain presents. And while we’re on the subject of streets, you should know that their names were once chosen in honour of professions, plants, animals and taverns, whereby the cult of honouring famous personalities did not exist. Today, some taverns still give their names to certain streets, serving as reference points for those who do not need the help of technology. At the neighbourhood’s highest point, 80 metres above sea level, you’ll find Zlatne Grede, the street that preserved its original name and became known as the "street of the Serbian intelligentsia”, as it was home to many 19th-century intellectuals. 

Restructuring a doubly cultural neighbourhood

Further down, we find Lađarska Street, Novi Sad’s narrowest street, where the ancestors left a measurement calculation for the alley in order to prove the unusual nature of the area: 80 steps long and only three wide. Long houses with small window frames and rustic architecture predominate in this quirky neighbourhood, famous for its handicrafts, taverns and shops. It’s no coincidence that the Almaš neighbourhood was declared a cultural heritage site in 2019. But, as they say, times change, desires change. Or, in this case, needs change. In order to recover the symbiosis with the natural spirit of the land and to make the most of the buildings, Architectural Studio DBA has designed an urban transformation project, where the reconstruction of infrastructures, paving, landscaping and the creation of a pedestrian zone allow the exploration of all the potential within the limits of Almaš. The preservation of façades, street lighting, traffic management, street furnishings, visual identity and tourist signage are other elements to be polished up, which together aim to strengthen the sense of belonging to a "home”. Thus, the restructuring of a doubly cultural neighbourhood is expected, with the capacity to respond to current demands. 

An ambition worth €37.5 million

Streets clogged by traffic, infrastructures that time has left in ruins and a lack of green areas are issues that, with this project, will no longer exist. The studio has designed the formation of new tree lines, the construction of small squares and the creation of car parks scattered around the area, as well as exclusive parking for residents. Lighting design and street furnishings also play a key role, able to instigate moments of community socialising. The challenge extends over 51,807.24 m2, with the aim of assuming a striking visual identity, both in the paving details and in the traffic signage and tourist maps. It is also not surprising that the studio has chosen a neutral colour palette, which draws on the colours of nature, or even that the spotlight falls on the facades and roofs of the infrastructures, since they are the inexorable proof of the passage of time. This ambition, supported by associations and residents, is worth €37.5 million and will ensure the transformation of a faded and weakened area into a neighbourhood with unique and rich details. 
Almaš, a place that endeavours to keep up with the times, without relinquishing the legacy entrusted to it.