Sofia deserves one of the best architects to work on one of the most symbolic places, said Mayor Fandakova

No trees will be removed from "Sveta Nedelya" square. The square will be very green, bright and will reveal the rich cultural heritage of Sofia. That is what the famous architect who won the competition for the "Sveta Nedelya" square, Massimiliano Fuksas said, after a meeting with the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova. The chief architect of Sofia, Zdravko Zdravkov also attended in the meeting.

Mayor Fandakova reminded that in the competition participated very good architectural bureaus from all over the world. Fandakova also said that yesterday the chief architect of Sofia, Zdravko Zdravkov had a working meeting with architect Fuksas and they had sorted out all the details, comments and recommendations to the project.  

“Sofia deserves one of the best architects to work on one of the most symbolic places and next year we have to be able to start working on this project,” said the Mayor of Sofia.

By the end of April, a conceptual design will be developed based on the comments made by the jury. It will be presented again. Then the detailed design phase will be at hand and the procedure for selecting a contractor. Efforts will be focused on beginning the actual work on the square in the summer of 2021. This summer studies of the archaeologists will continue.

The mayor assured us that meetings with church representatives were held and all details were agreed. Reinforced pavement surfaces will be provided to allow ritual cars to have access to the church, but the square must also be pedestrian. The number of photovoltaic luminaries will be reduced.

“Everyone’s expectation is to have a high quality level, but this depends primarily on the high level of design,” said the chief architect of Sofia, Zdravko Zdravkov, pointing out that the aspiration will be the design solution to be implemented easily and to allow for a phased completion.

Massimiliano Fuksas said that he proposed to all cities, including his hometown of Rome, that trees should be planted. "Sveta Nedelya" square is a contemporary model of something that can be done across Europe. The photovoltaics are not in the centre of the project and their number can be reduced. Their idea is to accumulate energy during the day, which then can be used for luminaires and for charging mobile devices. “The square will be for pedestrians only and the entrance to the church will be guaranteed,” also said the architect.

We would like to remind that the competition for "Sveta Nedelya" square was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and the requirements set out in the competition documentation. The competition was held in two stages, each evaluated by an international 15-member jury, which included prominent foreign and Bulgarian experts in the field of architecture, urban planning, cultural heritage protection, urban environment, etc. The competition was for development of conceptual architectural and urban planning design for "Sveta Nedelya" square. In developing the subsequent design phases, designers should comply with both the recommendations of the jury and all the requirements of the contracting authority, as well as with the regulatory framework currently in force.