4.
FOTO: Milan Ilic
GENEKS KULA: Surovi beton na ulazu u grad (1980) GENEX TOWER : Raw concrete at the entrance to the city (1980)
Dok su drugi gradovi gradili elegantne staklene kapije, Beograd je podigao brutalističku tvrđavu od sirovog betona. Zapadna kapija Beograda (Geneks kula), visoka 119 metara, dizajnira- na je da impresionira putnike koji dolaze sa aerodroma. Njene dve kule spojene su mostom na 26. spratu, a na samom vrhu nalazi se struktura u obliku letećeg tanjira. To je trebalo da bu- de prvi rotirajući restoran na Balkanu, čiji je mehanizam naru- čen iz inostranstva, ali zapravo nikada nije zavrteo svoju osu. Smeštena uz sam auto-put E-75, Geneks kula je danas ultima- tivna destinacija za globalne ljubitelje arhitekture. Fotografi, studenti i turisti prave prava hodočašća na Novi Beograd sa- mo zbog nje. Ali ona nije usamljena, jer Novi Beograd funk- cioniše kao najveći muzej brutalizma na otvorenom u Evro- pi. Ako krenete od Geneksa, možete istražiti susedni Blok 23 (koji se sa svojim kaskadnim betonskim zgradama našao na izložbama arhitekture širom sveta), a zatim produžiti ka „Sa- va“ centru i Palati Srbije.
While other cities constructed elegant glass gates, Belgrade built a brutalist fortress of raw concrete. The Western Gate of Belgrade (Genex Tower) is 119 metres tall and was designed to impress vis- itors arriving from the airport. Its two towers are connected via a bridge on the 26 th floor, while at the very top is a structure shaped like a flying saucer. It was intended to be the first rotating restaurant in the Balkans, with the mechanism ordered from abroad. Howev- er, it never actually turned on its axis. Located alongside the E-75 highway, Genex Tower is today the ultimate destination for global lovers of architecture. Photogra- phers, students and tourists make pilgrimages to New Belgrade just to see and record it. But it isn’t alone, as the whole of New Belgrade functions as the largest open-air museum of brutal- ist architecture in Europe. Starting from Genex, you can explore the neighbouring Block 23 (with its cascading concrete buildings that have been featured in architecture exhibitions worldwide), then continue towards the Sava Centre and the Palace of Serbia.
Belgrade » Beograd | 69
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