Studio A&D Architects is an architectural firm founded in 2017, representing a continuation of the work of the GHVC studio, whose founder is Danilo Grahovac. The studio's work spans across different scales and sectors in Serbia, as well as in the region, and clients range from public institutions to private investors. The main focus is the construction and reconstruction projects of public facilities - educational, health, and social welfare institutions. In addition, the firm also works on projects of construction, reconstruction, adaptation, and rehabilitation of office and residential buildings, as well as the design of public spaces.
Project description in English
The "Svetozar Marković" elementary school complex consists of three buildings - a school, a gym, and a swimming pool, along with sports courts for basketball, volleyball, bleachers and a playground for the youngest.
The school is located in the city center, in the area of the old park, next to the existing pine forest, which has become an important motif in design. The school, the gym, and the swimming pool are formally read as separate objects, although connected, they overlap and immerse themselves in the terrain, transforming into a unique functional unit.
The forest motif indicates peace, opposing the dynamic city traffic surrounding the site. Like an iceberg, the complex is a barrier between these two opposites. Following the site's boundaries, the building isolates the inner yard from external influences, and gently covers and protects it, forming an inner courtyard that becomes a shelter, a safe zone for sports and socialization. Regarding the theme "cover me softly" this building responds like an armor that protects and provides children with a hidden oasis in its center.
The school building has the most dominant position and is in direct interaction with the environment. The building is divided into two wings, for lower and upper grades, that join at the very corner, forming a hall that can transform into a multi-purpose space. This hall with a vertical atrium is directly connected to the inner courtyard. On the first floor, the atrium connects to the library, and on the second floor the reading room. These spaces occupy the most attractive position in the building.
There is a noticeable gradation of the openness of the buildings to the external environment - the school building is the most open to the dynamics of the environment, but its form creates an internal, protected environment; the gym opens its street facade but hides its contents with the additional denivelation of the sports terrain, and the swimming pool is completely closed to the environment and opens only towards the forest.
The materialization of the facade and the roof is the same, so the building leaves a monolithic impression. The monolith of the street facade is interrupted continuously, in clear and long strokes, while the courtyard facade is much more dynamic.
The entire school complex is fully adapted to people with disabilities, designed for a total of 960 students. The total gross area of the building is 9870 sqm, while the usable, net area is 8960 sqm.
