Living Olympic Sarajevo

Exploring the Contemporary City

What if Olympic Legacy visions and their large-scale (urban) transformation strategies designed to remake and re-imagine a city get halted by geopolitical events?

The integration of sports venues into the urban and natural environments surrounding Sarajevo allowed the city to stage one of the most spectacular Olympic Winter Games globally in 1984. Objected to extreme destruction during the war, the upcoming commemorate events in 2024, ask to re-ignite the Olympic Spirit as a possibility to rethink the city as a performative arena.

Known as a laboratory for hands-on experimentation and innovation, Sarajevo is on a path to becoming a smart and climate-neutral city. Radical approaches in dealing with its multilayered cultural heritage, and lifecycle-thinking address long-term sustainability and social integration. Engaging with the past, and imagining future urbanities, students will visit Olympic sites, make-shift cultural venues, and maker’s spaces. We will interact with city planners, architects, and activist stakeholders involved in the Chairs collaborative Action Lab with SECO, and interact with students of the Department of Architecture (University of Sarajevo) to reimagine Sarajevo beyond the games.