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Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Factors affecting the property in 2009*
  • Major visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure
  • Other Threats:

    b) Cracks appearing on the surface of the bridge

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

a) Construction of a hotel in the buffer zone of the World Heritage property, not in conformity with provisions of the Master Plan, which was part of the management plan included in the nomination file

b) Cracks appearing on the surface of the bridge

UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2009

Total amount provided to the property: USD 190,000 

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2009
Requests approved: 2 (from 1995-2009)
Total amount approved : 44,960 USD
Missions to the property until 2009**

2006 : ICOMOS mission ; 2007: UNESCO / ICOMOS mission ;2008: ICCROM/ICOMOS advisory mission;

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2009

At is 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008), the World Heritage Committee urged the State Party to redesign the Ruza Hotel, taking into account the requirements of the 2001 Master Plan and the 2005 management plan for the World Heritage property, the recommendations of the 2006 and 2007 missions, and in line with the specific recommendations made in the 2008 mission. The World Heritage Committee also requested continued monitoring of the bridge to ensure its structural stability after cracks appeared.

 

a) Construction of a new hotel in the buffer zone of the World Heritage property

The hotel, built in the 1970s, was badly damaged during the conflict of the 1990s. A building permit to rebuild it as a five star hotel and increase its height to four storeys was given in 2004. Work was in progress at the time of the inscription celebrations in December 2005 when certain invited experts noticed what they considered as a potential adverse impact of the emerging building, which was not in line with height restrictions of the Master Plan of 2001. Work was halted in 2006 and the subsequent missions in 2006, 2007 and early 2008 have addressed ways of modifying the designs in order to mitigate the impact of the hotel on the urban landscape setting of the World Heritage property. The main concerns of these missions were the fact that the hotel covered almost the entire plot, that in contrast to the original hotel which was built as an assembly of ‘pavilions’ the proposed building was monolithic, with vertical elements and rigid volumetric masses, and that the proposed materials of glass and steel were in conflict with the surrounding stone and wood structures. The 2007 reactive monitoring mission suggested reducing the height, compactness and volume, and urged a re-design that respected the surrounding streetscape. Two proposed modifications to the design were presented by the State Party in 2008, but the World Heritage Committee at its 32nd session and the World Heritage Committee urged the State Party once again to re-design the building in line with the mission recommendations.

Following the decision of the World Heritage Committee, the State Party invited professionals named by ICOMOS and ICCROM to visit the site to propose technical solutions to integrate the hotel into the existing architectural volumes of the urban fabric, in consideration of the larger urban setting and plans for the city. This work took place from 11 to 18 October 2008, and the State Party submitted a report to the World Heritage Centre on 30 January 2009 which included the report of these experts as an Annex.

The experts provided information on a number of aspects of the hotel project and urban context, and in particular, information, in regard to other modern constructions located behind the Ruza Hotel building which would become visible from the bridge site were the height of the hotel lowered. The report, went on to state, however, that the exterior design elements of the hotel should be redesigned, keeping the same height, but adapting and modulating the facade to better fit within the historic fabric of the area. The report also included design guidelines and sketches to suggest how the facade could be redesigned to produce a building that would not compromise the visual integrity of the property, and would, therefore, not be a threat to its Outstanding Universal Value. The State Party report of 30 January 2009, however, did not include any technical drawings on which an evaluation could be based.

After the drafting of the state of conservation documents, on 7 April 2009, the State Party provided additional information in the form of a PowerPoint presentation with more detailed drawings of the proposed redesign.

 

b) Cracks in the Surface of the Bridge

In regard to the monitoring of the cracks, the State Party reported on the ongoing monitoring that is being implemented at the bridge and indicated that a contract had been issued to LGA Bautechnik GmbH, a German engineering firm, to continue and expand the structural monitoring of the bridge including a three-dimensional survey of the surfaces.

While welcoming the report of the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note that the State Party did not provide any specific, technical design proposals for the hotel in their submission of 30 January on which a proper evaluation on the new design could be based. Such an evaluation is necessary to determine if the proposed new design is sufficient to protect the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. At the time of the preparation of this document, the World Heritage Centre has forwarded to the Advisory Bodies the additional information submitted by the State Party on 7 April 2009. It will be necessary for the Advisory Bodies to carefully examine the new material in light of the previous decisions of the World Heritage Committee.

In regard to the structural issues of the bridge, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies commend the State Party for the quickness with which they have instituted a regular monitoring system, and feel that it will be adequate for ensuring the ongoing structural stability of the bridge. 

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2009
33 COM 7B.95
Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (C 946 rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.85, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),

3. Also recalling the results and recommendation of the reactive monitoring missions of 2006, 2007 and 2008,

4. Acknowledges the receipt of the report of the experts submitted with the State Party report, as well as the additional information received by the World Heritage Centre in April 2009 after the deadline established by the World Heritage Committee;

5. Commends the State Party for the monitoring system that has been put in place to ensure the structural stability of the bridge;

6. Requests the State Party to provide the detailed drawings to the World Heritage Centre and also requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to cooperate with the State Party to ensure that the best solution be found in the redesign of the Ruza Hotel;

7. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2010, a progress report on the state of conservation of the property including the status of the redesign, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010.

Draft Decision: 33 COM 7B.95

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.85, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),

3. Also recalling the results and recommendation of the reactive monitoring missions of 2006, 2007 and 2008,

4. Acknowledges the receipt of the report of the experts submitted with the State Party report, as well as the additional information received by the World Heritage Centre in April 2009 after the deadline established by the World Heritage Committee;

5. Commends the State Party for the monitoring system that has been put in place to ensure the structural stability of the bridge;

6. Requests the State Party to provide the detailed drawings to the World Heritage Centre and also requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to cooperate with the State Party to ensure that the best solution be found in the redesign of the Ruza Hotel;

7. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2010, a progress report on the state of conservation of the property including the status of the redesign, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010. 

Report year: 2009
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Date of Inscription: 2005
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (vi)
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 33COM (2009)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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