New Government Residence

In addition to undertaking the first attempt at documenting the numerous government built residences during the socialist period in Bulgaria, this project aims to reimagine the role of the official state residence in the complex socio-political context of a post-communist country that appears to be stuck in a perpetual state of democratic transition.

Is there a way to democratise architecture that is inherently elitist? And if there isn’t, shouldn’t a 21-century, democratic Bulgaria have a new type of government residence? These questions arise as a result of the thorough research of what may be the most controversial architectural layer of Bulgarian postwar heritage. Developed in 3 interrelated parts – ? conceptual thesis, an urban strategy, and a design proposal, this project attempts to reposition the symbol of the official state residence in the context of a disillusioned society, still grappling with the disappointments of a political change that never lived up to its promises.\nOften representing some of the country's most impressive architectural achievements, existing state residences will be forever encumbered by the nature of their genesis. This project argues the need for a new government residence, one with both residential and representative functions, that can serve as an antithesis to those that came before it, and by extension – reimagine the way society and government interact. \nLocated within the capital city of Sofia, the proposed site for this new government complex encapsulates all problems of Bulgaria’s ad-hoc, post-socialist urban development. By spreading a grid-based system that organises this chaotic environment, the residence becomes a source of a broader urban strategy, intended to resolve these issues and serve as the basis for creation of a new type of public space for open communication between the state and its citizens.\nThe design proposal is based on a set of elements, derived from the architectural analysis of past residences, as a way to simultaneously address their contested legacy and create a parallel to the mass prefabricated systems, used in panel blocks still housing most of the population. Standardised as modules and bound to the new grid, this nomenclature is then applied across all buildings of the new government complex to form a sort of Architectural collage that defies every established ‘rule’ of the typology – from choice of materials to functional and spatial organisation.