A new complex in Flower Square

From historic buildings to modern architecture, everything in Zagreb reflects a central European culture blended with a sunny Mediterranean disposition. The capital and most populous city of the Republic of Croatia, ever since the city was founded in 1094 it has been a transit point and major crossroads for cultural, industrial and commercial exchanges, and is home to Croats alongside many other ethnic groups. Located geographically at the junction of major routes between the Adriatic coast and Central Europe, Zagreb has an urban planning scheme that reflects the unique features of a central European city combined with a Mediterranean lifestyle, where open-air cafes, terraces and outdoor gardens are perfect venues for meeting and socialisation. From the neo-Gothic cathedral, one of the symbols of the city, to the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, from the mosque to the heterogeneous collections housed in the city’s many museums, from the mediaeval layout of the upper town to the historic university, built in 1669 and considered one of the oldest in Southeast Europe, everything blends together in a cosmopolitan melting pot. Italo-Slovenian architect Boris Podrecca, who now lives in Vienna but shares with the city a Central European background and cultural pluralism, paid tribute to the city’s unique urban soul in the project for the new Cvjetni commercial and residential complex. The building, opened in May 2011 in the splendid and lively Cvjetni Trg, or “Flower Square”, in the heart of Zagreb, epitomises the energy and essence of the city centre while offering environmental benefits to the surrounding area. The complex has 13 floors (including 6 underground, mostly occupied by a large public car park), plus many services and businesses, including several offices and a large residential section with some forty luxury apartments and five penthouses occupying the top two levels of the building. The retail area, with adjoining entertainment and dining services, covers an area of 6,000 square metres located on three levels, from the ground floor to the second floor. On the side facing towards the interior of the building, opposite the glass facade overlooking Cvjetni square, is to be found a modern and charming roof garden surrounded by the three elevations of the residential area.
The laminar porcelain façade covering was created using Kerlite Buxy Caramel sheets from Cotto d’Este, supplied in a 300×100 mm size and cut onsite into sixteen modular sizes, subsequently applied to the façade according to the design by Boris Podrecca.
The delicate caramel tone, chosen in accordance with the colours of the surrounding buildings, helps add value both to the Cvjetni complex and to its surroundings.