Come as you are

The project consisted of the reconstruction of the existing, neglected, playground area next to the elementary school in Umag.

This year, in Umag, the project for the sports field next to the Elemen­tary School of „Marija i Lina“ was completed in Umag, which turned the previously abban­doned and unused school sport field into a gathe­ring place for citi­zens, athletes and children.

The play­ground was desi­gned by archi­tect Nenad Marić, and the investor was the Muni­ci­pa­lity of Umag. The project consisted of the recon­s­truc­tion of the exis­ting, negle­cted, play­ground area next to the elemen­tary school in Umag.

The project task included the recon­s­truc­tion of the play­ground space and the trans­for­ma­tion of the surroun­ding envi­ron­ment.

The new “schoolyard” now belongs to the pupils in the mornings, but is open to the general public during non-school hours.

The context is defined by a wide regional road with round­abouts, a school’s sports hall and a spacious green area, while the exis­ting condi­tion of the play­ground consisted of three basic elements: field — sports field area, track — surroun­ding the field and embank­ment — around the track.

The school play­ground is a space intended for children, school­children, but also a space that did not have its users in the hours when classes are not taking place.

Apart from the fact that the demand for a desi­gned outdoor sports faci­li­ties is growing every day (which was espe­ci­ally evident during the period of rest­ric­tions related to the pandemic), we were guided by the idea that space affects people’s habits and that well-desi­gned space can gene­rate new acti­vi­ties of socia­li­zing and meeting.

With the idea of ​​involving citizens, a school playground was designed that should be open and adapted to everyone.

The design of the space was approa­ched with the aim of elimi­na­ting visual and spatial barriers to the context, school and gree­nery, and with the inten­tion of opening play­grounds to the city, while paying atten­tion to stan­dards, methods and prin­ci­ples of desig­ning sports faci­li­ties.

By placing circular elements, with contents for rest and socia­li­zing, all three elements (path, field and embank­ment) are connected. In the circular elements, sports stands, benches for socia­li­zing and elements for athletes’ rest are formed.

So, in addi­tion to the “orange circles” connec­ting the play­ground with the context and repre­sen­ting new entrances to the play­ground across the embank­ment, the circles also become places which open views towards the play­ground and all sports faci­li­ties.

Nenad Marić has turned a neglected schoolyard into an extremely colourful and communicative sports centre.

The program consists of two basket­ball courts, one hand­ball and one futsal court, outdoor gym, long-distance jumping area, table tennis space and volley­ball courts. Follo­wing the criteria of sports plan­ning and program-defined contents, sport fields are laid in a north-south direc­tion, in order to ensure equal condi­tions for ever­yone to play sports.

Hori­zontal graphics, carpet struc­tures, are also used as an element of defi­ning the space, crea­ting a system of inter­spaces for indi­vi­dual sports.

In addi­tion to gene­ra­ting a pulsa­ting public space and sports revi­ta­liza­tion of the wider city center, the project also creates all the prere­qui­sites for profes­sional and recrea­tional sports.