The masterplan for Gospodarski centar (Business Center) in Osijek establishes a comprehensive regional infrastructure framework designed to enhance entrepreneurship, economic support services and commercial development. Awarded through a competitive bidding process, the project covers a strategic, previously undeveloped 125,000-square-metre site on the city's periphery. The primary architectural and urban challenge centred on organising a diverse, large-scale programme exceeding 70,000 square metres of total building area into a cohesive, low-density system that respects its open environment.
The masterplan avoids dense, monolithic structures, opting instead for an urban layout defined by clarity, simplicity and structural transparency. The programme requirements are carefully distributed across specialised, interconnected facilities: flexible, modular indoor and outdoor exhibition and fairground zones configured for high-capacity public and commercial events; integrated spaces for a regional business incubator, a dedicated congress hall and a multifunctional venue; and commercial and service facilities including a multistorey car park and a ten-storey commercial tower designed to anchor the site's future corporate expansion.
As the lead architectural and engineering entity, SIRRAH projekt is responsible for the entire project lifecycle, managing the comprehensive scope from initial zoning and concept design through detailed technical drawings and construction documentation. The layout emphasises logical internal circulation, optimal building orientation and generous open plazas, creating an adaptable spatial system. This project demonstrates how large-scale, multifunctional economic infrastructure can be organised with architectural restraint, serving as a functional reference point for the region’s future urban and economic growth.
Representing the inaugural phase of the regional masterplan, the Multifunctional Building of Gospodarski centar provides a modular infrastructure solution for large-scale economic events, trade fairs and congresses. Completed in 2023, the mixed-use structure spans nearly 5,000 square metres of gross building area distributed over two operationally distinct levels. The design serves as a structural blueprint for the site's future expansion, balancing high functional capacity with strict environmental standards.
The architectural layout uses a clear division of programmes to ensure efficient, simultaneous operations. The ground floor contains a column-free, 1,749-square-metre exhibition hall engineered with a modular framework that dynamically adapts to varying event scales and exhibitor requirements. The business infrastructure comprises four integrated conference and presentation halls equipped for high-density business meetings, public forums and catering services. On the upper level, an administrative sector occupies roughly a quarter of the footprint and provides support offices and secondary utility spaces.
As the core architectural and engineering team behind the facility, SIRRAH projekt designed the building around the principles of sustainable construction and environmental protection. The building is configured as a nearly zero-energy building (nZEB), extensively integrating renewable energy sources and microclimatically optimised systems to reduce operational overhead. The exterior composition pairs transparent, open glazed zones with clean structural geometries, avoiding formal complexity while establishing a highly flexible, durable and functional reference point for regional commerce.
The office tower is conceived as the principal vertical marker within the larger Osijek Business Center. While the wider campus consists of several buildings and public programmes distributed across a new urban site, the tower has a deliberate gravitational role. It establishes a distant point of orientation, gives the development a recognisable skyline and signals the importance of the new business district without relying on excessive formal complexity.
Its proportions are slender and controlled, and the façade is designed as a light, partially translucent envelope. Vertical elements filter the exterior and give the elevations a consistent rhythm, while setbacks and differentiated volumes reduce the apparent mass of the tower. The resulting expression is intended to be dominant yet calm: clearly visible within the largely horizontal surroundings, but visually refined rather than aggressive.
At ground level, the building is understood as part of the campus public realm rather than as an isolated object. The transparent lower levels and landscaped surroundings connect the tower to pedestrian routes, plazas and the neighbouring incubator, congress and multipurpose facilities. Upper floors provide office accommodation organised around a compact circulation and service core, while the external envelope supports daylight and a strong visual identity.
The project illustrates how a relatively small building footprint can carry significant urban meaning. Its role is both functional and symbolic, concentrating office space while marking the centre of a new development. At the time of the portfolio, the 5,000-square-metre project was described as being built. The architecture seeks to combine efficiency, legibility and a restrained civic presence, allowing the tower to act as a landmark for the entire business-incubator complex.
The Congress Center is a central component of the planned Business Center in Osijek. The portfolio identifies the project as particularly important because the city did not have a dedicated facility of this type at the time. Its programme is therefore intended not only to accommodate individual events, but also to strengthen Osijek’s ability to operate as a regional destination for conferences, business gatherings and public programmes.
The principal auditorium is designed for approximately 1,500 people. It is supported by offices, meeting rooms, food-service areas and the technical and circulation spaces required for events of different scales. The plan places the main hall at the centre of a clear functional arrangement, allowing visitors, speakers, staff and servicing to move through the building without unnecessary conflict. Adjacent spaces can support parallel meetings and smaller functions, extending the usefulness of the centre beyond major congresses.
Architecturally, the project combines a substantial roof form with transparent public edges. A glazed foyer creates a visible and welcoming entrance, while the larger hall is expressed as the core of the composition. The building is integrated into the landscape and public-space network of the wider campus, connecting it with the multipurpose hall, business incubator, office tower and other planned facilities.
At 6,100 square metres, the centre is compact in relation to its capacity and programme. The design focuses on clarity, flexibility and a strong civic presence rather than unnecessary monumentality. At the time of the portfolio, it was in the design phase. Its purpose is to provide missing regional infrastructure while contributing to a coherent new urban district in which business, public events and everyday activity can reinforce one another.
The third expansion phase of Gospodarski centar introduces a specialised cluster of five interconnected expo halls engineered to support high-capacity international trade fairs, industrial exhibitions and large-scale public events. Spanning a total area of more than 35,000 square metres of combined internal and external exhibition space, the project expands the region's hosting infrastructure. The architectural task focuses on maximising structural spans and volume adaptability while maintaining a clear, unified spatial language across the campus.
As the lead architectural and engineering entity, SIRRAH projekt coordinated the complex structural calculations required for the timber grid and detailed the advanced envelope systems. In keeping with the masterplan's baseline, the five pavilions use automated low-energy climate configurations and building systems, ensuring that their massive spatial volumes remain operationally sustainable and adaptable to diverse regional economic programmes.
Architecturally, the project combines a substantial roof form with transparent public edges. A glazed foyer creates a visible and welcoming entrance, while the larger hall is expressed as the core of the composition. The building is integrated into the landscape and public-space network of the wider campus, connecting it with the multipurpose hall, business incubator, office tower and other planned facilities.
