Street will Tear Us Apart: Alternative Scenarios for the Urban Transformation of the Cultural Quartier in Sarajevo
This paper examines the status quo of an urban void located among three key museums in Sarajevo: The National Museum, the Historical Museum, and the under-construction Contemporary Art Museum. This in-between space is controversial due to its designation in urban plans as the site for a major transversal road, intended to connect the northern and southern avenues via a four-lane road and bridge crossing the Miljacka River, which would disrupt the existing continuity of a prominent longitudinal green space. In the interim period before the road is developed, this void offers numerous possibilities for alternative uses and temporary public projects through tactical urbanism. One potential option is to develop the area into a museum quartier. Academic activities, workshops, and architecture studios have been organized to critically examine the key aspects of the urban plans within the context of political and economic transitions, and to juxtapose them with the goals of sustainable development and the actual priorities of Sarajevo's inhabitants. This paper aims to spark a discussion about the future of this urban threshold: whether it should be transformed into a transversal traffic link, or instead developed into a socio-cultural hub that fosters public activity. Through observation, projection, and experimentation with various activities and interventions, this study challenges the notions of "permanent temporality" and "temporary permanence" in this in-between space during the interim period awaiting future development.