Kempinski Belgrade Hotel

Belgrade, Serbia

2015

Located on the Danube’s riverfront and listed as National Heritage, the Jugoslavija is probably the most celebrated hotel in Serbia and certainly an icon of its capital. This hotel, which was originally to be named the “Belgrade” when leading modernist architects Mladen Kauzlarić, Lavoslav Horvat and Kazimir Ostrogović won the first prize in an architectural competition held 1947, was only built much later, according to the modified designs of Horvat. Like many Grand Hotels of the period, its project and construction mobilized some of the best architects and interior designers in the country, including Milorad Pantović, Vladeta Maksimović and Ivan Antić. It included some exquisite features, such as a bespoke rectangular chandelier designed by Daniel Swarovski’s crystal cutting workshop, in Tyrol, which was at the time allegedly the largest in the world.

Inaugurated in 1969, it has hosted a list of celebrities and high level officials that include, amongst others, President Nixon, President Carter and Queen Elizabeth ii. During the Balkan war and 1999 nato bombings of Yugoslavia, when part of the hotel was being used as a barracks for the paramilitary forces of Zeljko Raznatovic, a.k.a. “Arkan”, it was hit by two missiles, damaging its West wing.

As part of a wider masterplan, the Danube Riverside Project, as it is called, comprises the renovation of the existing 267-bedroom hotel building and its expansion, to include a set of twin 35-storey towers with serviced-apartments, a 5-storey office building and a small shopping centre. The design concept focuses on the asymetrical placement of two towers at the extremities, and cantilevering part of them to allow the lateral views from the existing hotel building to remain unobstructed. This jagged façade creates a striking presence, and as one circulates around the towers, the forms yield a surprisingly tectonic presence with a diversity of perspectives that present a prominent skyline without overshadowing the modernist hotel.

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Bird's eye view towards east

View from the Danube river

Street view

Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Client: Kratis, SA
Scope of Services: Architecture, interior design and landscape architecture
Project Brief: Mixed-use development with 35-storey twin towers of serviced and business-apartments, a 5-storey office building and shopping centre in addition to the refurbishment of the existing 267-keys hotel building
Hotel Operator: Kempinski Hotels, SA
Gross Built Area: 115,000 sq. m
Gross Leasable Area: 16,000 sq. m (shopping mall)
Parking: 1,080 cars (37,579 sq. m)
Estimated Construction Cost: EUR 215 M
Project Status: 2015 (concept design)