Situated at the confluence of the Sava and Danube, Belgrade possesses extraordinary ecological and spatial resources. Yet the continuity, accessibility, and environmental integration of its riverfronts remain among the city’s key urban challenges. This panel explores how river landscapes can function as ecological infrastructure and shared public space, shaping both environmental resilience and collective urban life.
The discussion will open with a framing reflection that positions rivers as civic ecological systems connecting natural processes with everyday urban experience. A comparative perspective will be provided by Basel’s long-term transformation of the Rhine riverfront into a continuous ecological, recreational, and social axis through coordinated planning, architectural design, and environmental management.
The panel will also address Belgrade’s ongoing initiatives, including the Linear Park project, which reimagines former railway infrastructure as a continuous green corridor. Through architectural and urban design proposals, the project demonstrates how riverfront landscapes can become catalysts for ecological restoration, public accessibility, and sustainable urban transformation.
By bringing together architects and urban experts from Serbia and Switzerland, the discussion will examine how river ecologies can inform contemporary design practices, urban policy, and long-term spatial development strategies.
Moderator:
PhD Pavle Stamenović – Architect, Assistant Professor, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture, https://stamenovic.tumblr.com/
Panelists:
Darko Šutanovac – Architect, Urban Planning Professional, RS
PhD Ivan Simić – Architect, Assistant Professor, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture, RS
Milica Topalović – Architect, Associate Professor of Architecture and Territorial Planning at ETH Zurich, CH
MSc Arch Scott Lloyd – co-founder of TEN – design research association for speculation, prototyping, and strategy for urban habitation, CH
picture 1: River-scape, Source: Urbanizam Beograda 25 (Beograd: Urbanistički zavod Beograda, 1974), cover: arh. Milica Jakšić.; Figure Ground Diagram & Site Plan of Basel.
