The railway lines in Sofia, Bulgaria, act as a well-electrified fence, defining the boundaries of “ghetto” neighborhoods that are located less than a kilometer from the city center. The southern neighborhoods benefit from better public transportation, parks, street lighting, and cultural and scientific spaces. In contrast, the neighborhoods north of the tracks remain largely untouched by the urban development boom, with limited parking options and a challenging transportation network—many areas can only be reached by car, or through risky routes.

What if the railway tracks united the city instead of dividing it?
What if the city had an axis enriched with diverse public spaces for everyone to enjoy?
I believe this is a beautiful vision, one worthy of being developed into an urban design concept for the future—A PARK OVER THE RAILS. The railway lines could become an attraction, a park, and a public space that connects cultural institutions and recreational areas into a cohesive urban experience.

The first step towards this vision is the concept I call ‘BRIDGES’, which includes the following elements:

1) Pedestrian bridges with public functions that span across the tracks.

2) Converting existing industrial buildings around the crossings into public spaces.

3)Constructing new public buildings along the railway route.

The project offers a solution focused on the area between Oborishte and Poduyane neiborhoods. The solution icludes:

1) Pedestrian bridge, crossing the raylway and the parallel boulevard “gen. Danail Nikolaev”.

1) Conversion of the Poduyane Electrical Substation into a multifunctional hall.

2) Renovation of the “Poduyane Market”, and its transformation into a vibrant market with both indoor and outdoor spaces.

The bridge structure design is experimental, focusing on achieving maximum lightness. To accomplish this, the ‘Tensegrity’ principle is applied, where the structural elements are divided into tensile and compressive components. Their geometry and materials are optimized based on the specific loads they need to support.
The bridge has heating, ventilation and air conditioning system with recuperator, rainwater harvesting system for plant watering and sprinkler fire protection.
The bridge and the market have structural facade roof with in-build solar system.
The reconstruction of the electrical station entirely changes the existing interior structure of the main building. Over the secondary building there is a superstructure added.