Building on Layers of Narrative Sediment

As a fragile historical site in central Belgrade, Staro Sajmište is burdened with layers of complex narratives. Once a modernist fairground, later a Nazi concentration camp, then housing, art collony and eventually a marginalized urban space, today it faces neglect and decay. This extremely urgent problem raises a critical question: how can new architecture engage with such a sensitive site, ensuring that its historical significance is preserved while allowing for contemporary use and a new layer of meaning?

Developed through creative research with the Center for Holocaust Research and Education (CHRE), the interventions are structured around the phenomenon of "layers of narrative sediment", recognizing space as a dynamic interplay of physical structures and the stories they embody. The design strategy explores the integration of new structures with the old through nine spatial tactics—observing, leaning, penetrating, breaching, breaking out, inserting, enclosing, reminiscing, and reimagining. These interventions engage with narrative traces, responding to remains such as existing and lost fair pavilions, improvised housing barracks, and open spaces, recognizing them as carriers of meaning and memory. A key element of the intervention is an organic walkway canopy extending across the site, forming an artificial landscape that interacts with historical traces. Its varying heights, perforations, and spatial configurations frame key moments in the site's history. The canopy creates two distinct atmospheres: above, a purified public space for reflection; below, a sheltered space with a sacred, almost temple-like quality. Through this interplay, the site's layered history is expressed in micro-scale atmospheres within a macro-scale landscape. At its core, the memorial center is housed within three preserved pavilions, where new structures redefine their boundaries using spatial storytelling. The other structures form a reimagined artistic and residential district, allowing current inhabitants to remain as the site’s guardians. The surrounding area is transformed into a vast memorial park, cleared of unsuitable commercial structures. This approach ensures that Staro Sajmište remains a vital part of Belgrade’s urban fabric, balancing preservation with contemporary engagement.