MANGAN CITY OVERDRIVE

TEAM DATA

Team Representative: Ante Sušić  (HR) – architect

Rapska 65, 10 000 Zagreb (HR) 
+385 915 953 757
antesusic.af@gmail.com

See the complete listing of portraits here 
See the site page here 

^{A. Sušić}

INTERVIEW
^{Click on the images to enlarge}

1. How did you form the team for the competition?

It was extremely easy, me being the only team member.

2. How do you define the main issue of your project, and how did you answer on this session main topic: the place of productive activities within the city?

Šibenik is a city in decline, whose depopulation and unemployment rates have only been exacerbated by the 2008 global financial crisis. In the socio-economic context of the city of Šibenik, whose industrial legacy has failed to accommodate the 21st century's request for knowledge based on productivity, the only production plausible is the (re)production of tourists. I was explicitly critical of the theme of productivity, at least in the way it was defined by the competition brief so being awarded was quite surprising. Notwithstanding that in general, the term 'productive', nowadays, has implicit ideological connotations, in the context of the site, the expected types of production were simply unrealistic and the obvious solution presented itself: production should be regarded exclusively through the idea of mass (post-)tourism.
The project completely exploits the strategic site as it proposes a city with a tourist every 20 sqm. Various attractions on the site are organized as an archipelago of simulacra, reproducing historical, natural and cultural heritage.

3. How did this issue and the questions raised by the site mutation meet?

The city of Šibenik is endowed with exquisite natural beauty of its surroundings and the biggest and most exceptional medieval historic centre of all coastal cities in Croatia. Recent building of the Nikola Bašić hotel (along with his mega-project of 'Dalmapolis') and 'facelifting' of the historic centre for hospitality purposes presume a kind of consensus, that resonates with the collective unconscious of the city's inhabitants, that the only production plausible in Šibenik is (re)production of tourists. The strategic site looks like a nuclear fallout zone so it is only natural that it should become a tourist resort. 

4. Have you treated this issue previously? What were the reference projects that inspired yours?

No, I have not treated this issue previously. Formally, references are obvious (so there is no need for images). Conceptually, references are outside disciplinary boundaries and reflect diverse political/economic/social/cultural/technological/etc. contexts as well as my personal sensibilities since the site is in my hometown.

5. Urban-architectural projects like the ones in Europan can only be implemented together with the actors through a negotiated process and in time. How did you consider this issue in your project?

Is it not the case for every urban/architectural project? I am willing to listen to any offers.

6. Is it the first time you have been awarded a prize at Europan? How could this help you in your professional career?

Yes, this is the first time. I am 'visible' now.