PANORAMA CITY, Bulgaria
| Location: | Galata, Bulgaria |
| Type: | Resort Village |
| Year Design: | 2006 |
| Status: | In Progress/Planned |
| Size | 43 acres |
| Contact: | Alfa Development www.alfadevelopments.com |
| Planning: | DPZ-Miami/DPZ-Europe |
Panorama City will be a resort community with the character and complexity of a compact small town. The site is located south of Varna, the third largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. A former military base, it is situated on a hillside with impressive views to the Black Sea. The master plan capitalizes on this unique characteristic, offering a variety of views and public spaces across the site.
The community itself has a simple urban structure, with three primary entrances, one of which is a continuation of nearby Galata’s main street. The blocks are designed to correspond with the site’s unique topography, and and the urban fabric is comprised of long, thin blocks, meandering along the site’s hills and ridges. Designed as an amphitheater of buildings facing the sea, the streets are aligned along the slopes, providing unobstructed views to the north and good sun exposure to the south.
Three pedestrian "vertical" parks connect the streets from south to north and create a series of dramatic public terraces and balconies which open to the views, similar to those found in San Francisco, Genoa, Valparaiso, and Balchik, a small town north of the site. These vertical parks each have their own character specific to their location, with the most "urban" park located closest to the main street, and the most naturalistic offering direct views of the sea.
The project introduces several building typologies, including perimeter multi-family buildings, mixed-use flex buildings, combining retail, offices and residences, apartment villas, townhouses, live/work units, and single family houses. This variety of building types will create a range of choices for the permanent and seasonal residents as well as visitors to Panorama City.
This project is envisioned to be a model for new resorts in Bulgaria, one that involves a sensitive approach to the site; compact, pedestrian-friendly design; and innovative, contemporary architecture.
Pohlstrasse 67