ROMAN FORUM

The main square of Roman Iader, where the whole public life of the city took place, lies in front of the Church of St Donatus and the Archbishop's Palace.

It was laid out according to the rules of classical urban planning during the imperial period of the Roman state, from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD.

The square consists of a spacious pavement which, on three sides, is separated by two steps from porticoes under which one once approached the tabernae. These formed a row of regular units intended for crafts and trade. On the south side of the Forum stood a monumental basilica, the city hall used for many public functions. To the west rose the Capitol, raised about 2 metres – a sacred precinct with a temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva and porticoes around it. At the foot of the Capitol were public altars, wells, probably a rostrum, and two triumphal columns, one of which has been preserved to this day and in the Middle Ages served as a “pillar of shame”.

By its dimensions the Zadar Forum is one of the largest on the Adriatic: it is 45 m wide and 90 m long. Above the porticoes it also had galleries, and as a whole it is a highly developed example of a forum complex, one of the more important among the ancient cities of the Adriatic. An inscription with the name of Augustus's proconsul for Illyricum, Tamphilus Vaala, on the rim of a well from the Forum, testifies that construction of the complex began as early as the 20s BC.

In late antiquity the nucleus of Christian buildings arose next to the Forum; it grew into a developed episcopal complex with a basilica and annexes and, in the early Middle Ages, with the Church of St Donatus, which destroyed the earlier complex. In the course of history the whole complex was razed to the ground, and in its place arose Kampa, a medieval square with a Renaissance cistern.

REDEVELOPMENT OF POPE JOHN PAUL II SQUARE (FORUM), 2005–2008

Architect: Ante Uglešić

The redevelopment of Pope John Paul II Square in Zadar won second place at the jubilee 20th CEMEX international building award, competing against 634 projects from around the world. The same project was nominated for the annual “Bernardo Bernardi” award of the Association of Croatian Architects (UHA) as one of the four most successful achievements in design and interior design in 2011.

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT

The project covers an area rich in historical layers, between the portico of the Roman forum, Š. K. Benja Street (the cardo maximus), the western road and the Rašica house. Functionally and in design it is divided into several different but connected parts: a raised square above the former 16th-century city cistern; a lower western pedestrian plateau with tall greenery, benches and a fountain linking the two levels; a green area with ancient fragments (lapidarium); a pedestrian passage beside the Rašica building with hospitality terraces and purpose-designed shades; the basilica area, which is integrated with and connects all four previous parts and the forum portico; and the edge zone along the carriageway, which includes the pavement and a partial reconstruction of the medieval rampart.

The project revealed and connected all the significant historical layers that intertwine in this area and, through contemporary interpretation, fitted them into the public and active life of the city. With this redevelopment, Pope John Paul II Square has become an active public space in Zadar's historic core – a space of intensive use, a living room for its citizens, an open-air exhibition and a venue for events (concerts, the film festival and other occasions).

Author/source: UHA, 6 December 2011

REDEVELOPMENT OF POPE JOHN PAUL II SQUARE IN ZADAR (FORUM)

CLIENT: City of Zadar

AUTHOR: Ante Uglešić

ASSOCIATE: Marijana Rančić

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Sandro Lendler, Velid Jakupović, Jakov Đinđić

DESIGN PERIOD: 2005 – 2008

CONSTRUCTION COMPLETED: 2010

CONTRACTOR: PLOTER d.o.o., Zadar

SITE AREA: 5,654.50 m²

TOTAL FOOTPRINT AREA: 5,654.50 m²