Botanical Garden - Sofia Railway Depot | Kristian Savov

Project team: Kristian Savov, Georgi Bodurov, Rosen Anev. Dobrinka Nikolova

History of the building

This industrial building used to be the old Sofia Railway depot. It's area is more than 420,000sqm and it is located right next to the Central Railway Station in Sofia. The factory has been finished in the early 1888 but after more than a century the work in the industry decreased significantly. After a couple of years the factory fails and it has been closed and abandoned since 2003.

The Concept

The time is passing and nobody takes care of the building, but the mother nature. The wild vegetation and greenery in the old factory is definitely the first thing noticed. It was a sign that the mother nature wants to be part of this project and to develop the historical value. The project is based on a concept for a National Botanical Garden and the main halls are divided into different topics, climate and atmospheres which are emphasizing the diversity of plants and - most importantly - the diversity of experiences - Tropical Rainforest, African Savanna and Japanese Garden. In the middle of the building there is a place for big celebrations (weddings, proms, big events,etc.) which provides the opportunity of taking pictures in variety of places. The restaurant supplies with food and catering for the events. The interior and exterior parts of the restaurant is available for everyone. All the food is organing because outside there is a huge patio where the vegetables and the fruits are grown. Also, the patio is not only for food, it hides a secret garden of typical Bulgarian Roses and you can easily find it just following the nice aroma of roses. The interior and exterior parts of the restaurant is available for everyone.