The construction of the Crystal Palace will be the first completed achievement within the framework of the ambitious urbanistic project Šmartinska Road Partnership, lead by the Municipality of Ljubljana, and will be of crucial importance for the future development of the wider area surrounding the Crystal Palace.

Area under development by Šmartinska Road Partnership (Author: City studio, prostorsko načrtovanje d.o.o., Ljubljana)

The project will redefine the purpose of a 230,000 m2 area between BTC City, Šmartinska cesta and the railway. In the framework of this big public private partnership project, an international urban planning competition was organised to select the best design for this area which directly borders BTC City.

According to plans presented so far, this will be a futuristic development, growing into a prestigious district of Ljubljana fashioned after Manhattan and based on the tenets of supermodern urban planning, where new offices, flats and education centres will all be connected by a big park.

Further improvements in spatial and urban planning as well as architecture are the basis for further development of BTC City and guidelines for the creation of pleasant new spaces and contents designed to meet the needs of both temporary visitors and longer term users. The ever faster pace of business presents the next challenge: building a hotel between Kolosej and Bratislavska cesta. The new hotel will contribute to BTC City as an important tourist and business destination.

The winning design in the international urban planning competition sponsored by Pa Šmartinska Road Partnership (Author: Hosoya Schaefer Architects, Zurich, Switzerland, 2008)