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Belgrade Tower

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Belgrade Tower
Кула Београд
Kula Beograd
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHotel, condominium, observation deck
LocationSavamala, Belgrade, Serbia
Construction startedApril 15, 2016
Topped-outMarch 8, 2021
OpeningOctober 15, 2024
OwnerEagle Hills
Height168 metres (551 ft)
Technical details
Floor count42
Design and construction
Architect(s)Skidmore, Owings & Merrill[1]
DeveloperEagle Hills
Website
The Residences at The St. Regis Belgrade

Belgrade Tower (Serbian: Кула Београд, romanized: Kula Beograd), officially known as Kula Belgrade, is a 42-floor, 168-meter (551 ft) tall skyscraper as part of the Belgrade Waterfront project in Belgrade, Serbia.[2]

Upon the completion of the outer structure in 2022, it became the tallest building in Belgrade and the Western Balkans, and has been promoted as "the beacon of the entire master-planned community."[3][4] Outside of Turkey, it remained the tallest building in the Balkans for a year before being surpassed by the 202-metre (663 ft) Sky Fort in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2023. It remains the tallest building in the former Yugoslavia.

Overview

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Situated in a prime location at the bank of the Sava River, the Belgrade Tower will offer a waterfront lifestyle. Intended as a "new symbol of the Serbian capital," the developers aimed to integrate Belgrade's traditional architecture in a modern development. The tower will have a direct approach to a waterfront promenade, located in close proximity to Belgrade Fortress. It will be connected with the old city through a public plaza.[5]

The architects were inspired by the nearby river when planning the exterior appearance. Aside from the Avala telecommunications tower, this will be the tallest structure in Belgrade, including a 190-room St. Regis hotel occupying the first nine floors, and 220 luxury St. Regis-branded and serviced apartments on floors 14 through 39.[6] Guests of the St. Regis Belgrade and residents of the apartments will have access to a swimming pool, gym, a relaxation lounge and an observation deck at the top of the tower.[7]

Construction

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Design

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Kula Belgrade was designed by the internationally recognized firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.[8] Their famous works include the 345 California Center building in San Francisco, the Hancock Building and the Willis Tower in Chicago. Their most famous building is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world.

The building has an unusual design that changes shape at the height of the 14th floor, where the building "twists". It is one of the few buildings of this type that achieves a rotation of 90 degrees through only ten floors.[9] The rotation of the building symbolizes what makes Belgrade recognizable - the confluence of the Sava and the Danube. On the facade of glass panels, the river's reflection and the city's panorama will be seen, giving the impression of fluidity.[8]

The facade is composed of nearly 14,000 glass panels.[10] Up to the ninth floor, the front also has a special "birds first" glass with lines visible only to birds, which helps them not to "collide" with the building. Another distinct feature of front glasses is that they are spectrally selective, i.e. they let in as much light as possible while reducing energy loss.[9]

The skyscraper is connected to the Galerija shopping center by a pedestrian bridge, from where you can take an elevator directly to the observation deck.[11] The building also has an underground garage on two levels with 305 parking spaces, while the second underground floor is planned for residential storerooms and accompanying technical rooms.[12]

13th floor

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Kula Belgrade is the first building in Serbia with no 13th floor. Instead, the 12th floor will have a double level. The number 13 is not on the control panel of any of the 15 elevators in the building.[13]

St. Regis

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In April 2016, it was announced that the Marriott hotel chain had chosen Kula Belgrade as the home of its luxury hotel franchise St. Regis.[14] The Belgrade hotel is 6th in Europe and 61st in the world.[15] In 2017, was announced that the building would also host "The Residences at The St. Regis Belgrade", the first branded St. Regis apartments in Europe.[16]

St. Regis hotel

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Hotel St. Regis Belgrade occupies the first 11 floors of the building,[17] offers 119 rooms and suites with a view of the city or the Sava River, and has a well-known St. Regis bar. The second floor has a swimming pool, spa, gym and meeting rooms.[18]

It was announced that the St. Regis hotel in Belgrade would bring the recognizable St. Regis butler service to Serbia, setting new standards for luxury hotel accommodation in Serbia.[19]

The Astor Ballroom will be located on the ground floor of the building as a place for exclusive events and special celebrations.[20]

St. Regis branded apartments

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The so-called "The Residences at The St. Regis Belgrade" - branded St. Regis apartments - offer a privileged residential experience to everyone looking for the ultimate comfort and the most prestigious place to live.[21] The space from the 14th to the 19th floor of Kula Belgrade is occupied by 32 apartments from the "Signature" collection, from the 20th to the 37th floor by 170 apartments from the "Grand" collection, and from the 37th to the 40th floor by 18 apartments from the "Sky" collection.[18] There are 220 apartments in the building.[22]

The sale of apartments in the building began in May 2019.[23]

Observation deck

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As the tallest building in Serbia, Kula Belgrade will have an observation deck at the top, on the 41st floor, with a view of the entire capital, rivers and landmarks such as the Belgrade Fortress, the Temple of Saint Sava and the Avala Tower. Visitors will reach this 360-degree viewpoint by high-speed elevators. Kula Belgrade has 15 elevators, and it takes 25 seconds to get to the restaurant and the observation deck from the ground floor.[8]

Media facade

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Since the beginning of 2022, important dates and events have been regularly marked on the media facade of Kula Belgrade. In January 2022, Orthodox New Year was celebrated with a three-and-a-half-minute light show and the colors of the Serbian flag.[24] The projection of the message "Long live Serbia" marked the Sretenje holiday and Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia in February 2022.[25] In November 2022, the Kula Belgrade facade displayed an animation in honor of the Cyrillic alphabet and reformer of the Serbian language, Vuk Karadžić.[26] In the same month, a message of support was sent to Serbian football players before the World Cup in Qatar 2022.[27] In February 2023, several dozens of love messages were broadcast to mark Valentine's Day.[28] In June 2023, the facade commemorated the success of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, who won a record 23rd Grand Slam title.[29] In June 2023, a special animation was shown in honor of Nikola Jokić, the Serbian basketball player who led his team to the first championship NBA title in history.[30]

Kula Plaza

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The modernly designed plateau - Kula Plaza, located at the foot of the Kula Belgrade - will be the new place for city events and the most important cultural and artistic events, including concerts, festivals, various manifestations, performances and seasonal events.[8] Kula Plaza was designed by SWA Group.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Kula Belgrade".
  2. ^ "Kula Belgrade". The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  3. ^ "The St. Regis - Belgrade Waterfront". www.eaglehills.com. Eagle Hills. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Belgrade Waterfront Fact Sheet". Belgrade Waterfront. Eagle Hills. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Kula Beograd – spoj tradicionalnog i savremenog". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 29 June 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  6. ^ Chamberlin, Chris (20 April 2016). "Luxury St. Regis Hotels & Resorts hotel to debut in Belgrade, Serbia". Australian Business Traveller. Business Travel Media Pty Ltd. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Kula Belgrade/St. Regis Hotel". Belgrade Waterfront. Eagle Hills. Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d "Kula Beograd dobila "krunu", do vidikovca na 41. spratu za 25 sekundi". 6 June 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Zarotirana silueta Kule Beograd od 90 stepeni snimljena dronom". 5 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Belgrade Tower facade completed: 14,000 panels, rotated silhouette symbolizing confluence of Sava and Danube". 6 June 2022.
  11. ^ "SIMBOL SRPSKE PRESTONICE "Kula Beograd" biće turistička i ekološka atrakcija". 21 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Raport s gradilišta: Kako se gradi najviša kula u Beogradu". 28 June 2021.
  13. ^ "MISTERIJA 13. SPRATA KULE BEOGRAD: Nijedan od 11 liftova neće imati dugme za to mesto, ali nije on tek tako nestao! Evo šta je tu". 7 December 2022.
  14. ^ "St. Regis Hotels & Resorts to Debut in Serbia's Capital City in 2019 with the St. Regis Belgrade". 19 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Another Marriott hotel in Belgrade – Opening of St. Regis in Kula Belgrade in 2020". 8 September 2017.
  16. ^ "Hotel Sent Ridžis stiže u Beograd". 8 September 2017.
  17. ^ "DETALJI O KULI BEOGRAD KOJE NIKO NIJE ZNAO: Ovo nemaju ni evropske metropole, vlasnici stanova imaju posebnu pogodnost". 19 January 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Belgrade Waterfront – St. Regis Hotel and Residences, Kula Belgrade".
  19. ^ "Svetski standardi stanovanja uz šarm srpske prestonice". 24 June 2022.
  20. ^ "ZORANA BURLIĆ: BELGRADE WATERFRONT IS MUCH MORE THAN REAL ESTATE". 21 November 2022.
  21. ^ "ST. REGIS – WHERE INDULGENCE MEETS SOPHISTICATION". 27 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Hotel chain St. Regis to have 220 apartments and 190 rooms in Belgrade Tower - Opening of first residential apartments by 2020". 20 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Počela prodaja stanova u Kuli "Beograda na vodi"". 27 May 2019.
  24. ^ "Watch spectacular fireworks from Belgrade Tower: Happy Serbian New Year!". 14 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Projekcijom srpske zastave na Kuli Beograd obeležen Dan državnosti (FOTO)". 15 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Projekcija na Kuli Beograd u slavu ćirilice i Vuka Karadžića". 6 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Na Kuli Beograd upućena snažna podrška našim fudbalerima: Orlovi, srećno u Kataru (VIDEO)". 21 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Dan zaljubljenih na Kuli Beograd proslavljen na nesvakidašnji način". 14 February 2023.
  29. ^ "Kula Beograd obasjana Novakovim likom: Najjača čestitka na najvećem LED ekranu u gradu". 11 June 2023.
  30. ^ "Čestitka Nikoli Jokiću: Hoće neko na basket! Kula Beograd u znaku najboljeg košarkaša planete". 13 June 2023.
  31. ^ "Novo gradsko mesto za okupljanje: PLATO kod KULE BEOGRAD (FOTO)". 8 May 2019.
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