Novkabel: Vacant infrastructure
Novkabel: Concept masterplan
Novkabel: Desirable destination
Cultural catalysts: A disused 1920's Paper Mill
Cultural catalysts: Nikola Tesla Museum
Reworking extraordinary buildings: Existing structures
Reworking extraordinary buildings: Structures reimagined
Neimar riverside: Riverfront
Neimar riverside concept
Neimar riverside
Evolving the Danube City
Since 2022, we have been working on a series of projects in Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia. Two distinct cities connected by the Danube and a shared ambition for sustainable growth.
Following an international competition win for a heritage-led masterplan south of Belgrade, we have collaborated with LDA Design and Atelier Ten on a range of mixed-use, post-industrial developments.
Drawing on our experience of comparable regeneration projects in the UK, we bring fresh perspectives to complex sites shaped by twentieth-century industrial heritage.
Many of these buildings are remarkable for their scale, character and engineering ingenuity. Through thoughtful adaptation, they are becoming catalysts for vibrant new neighbourhoods, attracting students, creatives and entrepreneurs at the forefront of the region’s growing knowledge economy.
From vacant place to desirable destination
Developed in the late 1960s as an electrical cable manufacturing plant, Novkabel occupies a prominent site on the northern edge of Novi Sad.
Today, improved rail and cycle connections are helping to transform the former industrial zone into a 50-hectare live, learn and work neighbourhood, supporting the city’s rapid growth across its university, healthcare and technology sectors.
At the heart of the site are a series of monumental concrete warehouses set within generous parkland, originally conceived to provide workers with access to nature and open space. These qualities make Novkabel uniquely suited to adaptive reuse, creating a low-rise campus of education, workspace, leisure and homes that builds on the site’s industrial heritage while shaping a sustainable future.
Cultural catalysts
The role of culture in shaping successful places is increasingly recognised around the world.
In Belgrade, a former 1920s paper mill within the emerging Belgrade Waterfront district is being transformed into a museum dedicated to Nikola Tesla, Serbia’s most celebrated inventor and a pioneer of electricity.
Our competition design reimagines the historic mill as a cultural landmark, guiding visitors through Tesla’s life, ideas and groundbreaking innovations. By adapting this industrial heritage asset and its surrounding public square, the project creates a new civic destination for the people of Belgrade, connecting its illustrious past with its ambitious future.
Reworking extraordinary buildings
The mid-20th century saw a boom in manufacturing modernisation across what was then Yugoslavia. Engineers and architects were given freedom to explore new materials and technologies.
Their legacy is a wealth of extraordinary working structures, with experimentation in concrete forms rivalling anything you might find in the West. Monuments to the socialist industrial era that are now becoming recognised for their iconic brutalist quality.
We are embracing the opportunity to explore how these formidable buildings can be harnessed for alternative uses, revealing their ingenuity and craft to a broader audience, and to suit contemporary life.
Nature-led neighbourhoods
Novi Sad’s distinctive character, high quality of life and growing knowledge economy are driving demand for a new generation of residential communities that combine environmental responsibility with active, healthy living.
At Neimar Riverside, 750 apartments overlook Suncani Kej, one of the city’s most popular walking, running and cycling routes, connecting residents to the Strand (beach) and the wider Danube waterfront.
A series of stepped pavilion buildings are set within generous parkland, maximising river views while bringing daylight and landscape deep into the development. New public spaces, amenities and retail strengthen connections with the surrounding Liman neighbourhood, creating a vibrant extension of the city fringe.
As Novi Sad continues to grow, projects such as Neimar Riverside demonstrate how sustainable urban development can deliver resilient, liveable communities with a stronger connection to nature and place.
Written on 14.09.2026, by Will Poole
