Location: Burgas

Year: 2019

Team: Silvia Chakarova, Despina Kaneva and Nurhan Redzheb

Client: Regional Urban Development Fund 

Status: Completed

‘Burgas Market Hall’ project. Recommendations for Burgas’ new liveable public space development

In 2018 the Municipality of Burgas won the Sustainable Management of Public Spaces Award, part of the Ecoobshtina competition, organised by Embassy of France in Bulgaria and French Institute in Bulgaria together with partners. One of the prizes, on behalf of the Regional Urban Development Fund in partnership with the Association of Bulgarian Urban and Regional Planners, is a professional consultation for a current project for public space development in Burgas. Thus, place.make’s team was engaged to support the Municipality of Burgas in developing their Burgas Market Hall project in the context of potential Horizon 2020 application.

Aleksandrovska St, one of the main pedestrian streets in Burgas attracts many people

The building of the Market Hall used to be located at the corner of St. Kliment Ohridski St and Vasil Aprilov St before its demolition in 1975. The space today is a triangular plaza that turns into an underground passage under Hristo Botev St.

The space of the Market Hall today

The territory of ‘Burgas Market Hall’ is a continuation of the pedestrian St. St. Kiril and Metodii St. This axis is cut by the ‘barrier’ Hristo Botev St. where the underground passage impede the pedestrian movement. The underpass is considered as an outdated decision by the Municipality and its reconsideration and finding of new uses is among the major challenges in the process of its upgrade. Hristo Botev St is also an informal division line between the attractive and dynamic eastern parts of the historical centre and the more residential western parts. Removing this barrier is an important step towards connecting the two parts in the ‘Burgas Market Hall’ project – the one at the former Market Hall and the one at the Opera, and for their incorporation into the pedestrian network of the city centre.

Recommendations for pedestrian accessibility and connectivity improvement

You can browse through the detailed recommendations for the “Burgas Market Hall” project development below (in Bulgarian):