In an international architectural competition concluded on 17 December, the winning design for the new Nikola Tesla Museum building was submitted by the London-based architectural firm Zaha Hadid Architects and Bureau Cube Partners.
The Minister of Culture, Nikola Selaković, reminded the public that the building of the former Milan Vapa paper factory, which later served as the headquarters of Jugošped in Belgrade and was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, will become the new home of Serbia’s most visited museum.
“Located on Živojin Mišić Boulevard, in the Belgrade Waterfront area, this will be one of the most significant cultural landmarks, not only in our capital and Serbia but across the entire Balkans. Thanks to the winning architectural solution, which will now be developed and implemented, I am confident that Belgrade will gain a fantastic symbiosis of classical, industrial, and modern architecture,” Selaković emphasised.
The Minister of Culture noted that the Nikola Tesla Museum, which currently occupies 250 square metres, will move to a new space of nearly 6,000 square metres.
“In the outgoing year 2024, the Nikola Tesla Museum welcomed a record of over 180,000 visitors—the highest number ever, mostly individual visitors. I am confident that with the realisation of this project, as part of the ‘Leap into the Future Serbia 2027’ programme, we will make Belgrade even more recognisable on the cultural map of the Balkans, Europe, and the world,” said Nikola Selaković.
From 14 October to 17 December 2024, the international competition for the new architectural solution for the former Milan Vapa paper factory, where the Nikola Tesla Museum will be relocated, received 46 submissions.
Zaha Mohamed Hadid was an Iraqi deconstructivist architect, artist, and designer whose buildings and projects are recognisable worldwide. Until now, Serbia did not have a structure designed by her firm. However, in 2011, a deal was struck with the Beko Company for the Beko Masterplan project in Belgrade, which was supposed to be located near the Kalemegdan Fortress.
The Beko Masterplan was intended to cover 94,000 square metres and be the first modern project of its kind in Belgrade. Unfortunately, it was never initiated because, in 2016, just as work on the project was about to begin, Zaha Hadid fell ill and, shortly afterwards, passed away.
(Euronews, 30.12.2024)