A 100-meter-tall Severnica tower designed by Zaha Hadid will be built in Ljubljana.

A new business tower, approximately 100 meters tall, is planned for the capital of Slovenia. The design was developed by the world-renowned Zaha Hadid Architects. The building, named Severnica, will be located between Ljubljana’s northern ring road, Celovška Street, and the Aleja shopping center—an area that has been actively transformed in recent years into a new business cluster for the city.

Architecture and Specifications

The tower is conceived as a slender building with a flexible, fluid form, characteristic of Zaha Hadid’s designs. The building has a tripartite spatial structure with a common central communication core (stairs and five elevators). The sections are integrated into a single architectural volume and are not separate buildings. The two-level office volumes are cut out in a teardrop shape, creating spacious terraces for employees and shaping the building’s distinctive silhouette.

Key project features:
– The tower will have 22 above-ground levels, 21 of which are designated for office space.
– 4 underground levels
– A restaurant and bar on the ground floor and mezzanine
– Total gross floor area of ​​26,093 m²
– Approximately 740 workstations

With a declared height of over 100 meters, the Severnica tower will surpass the 85-meter Spektra residential tower and the 89-meter Kristalna palača and could become Slovenia’s tallest building, although this status is currently formally held by the upcoming Emonika skyscraper by Mendota Invest.

Construction permit received

The investor, Stolp Severnica, applied for an integrated construction permit in January of last year, and the permit has already been issued.

The exact start and completion dates for the project have not yet been disclosed. The investment cost has also not been announced.

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Location and Urban Context

The site is located in the Šiška district at the intersection of Ljubljana’s northern ring road and Celovška Street, next to the Aleja shopping center. The area has been actively developing in recent years: the Spektra residential towers have already been completed, a new business center is being developed, and the WestLink CAMPUS complex is being built across the ring road.

This area is effectively forming a new northern business axis for the city.

State Restrictions and Requirements

The project is located adjacent to the historical and cultural route “Path of Remembrance and Comradeship” (PST). In this regard, the state has established strict conditions:

– protection of the tree avenue under the constant supervision of an arborist
– five-year monitoring of the tree condition and possible compensatory planting
– use of bird-safe glass surfaces
– archaeological supervision
– landscaping solutions taking into account the protected status of the area

Discussion on High-Rise Construction

Some members of the professional community are critical of the project. Architecture professor Tadej Glažar notes that buildings taller than 12 stories exceed the “human scale” and can create a stressful environment. Such conclusions, he says, were confirmed by research dating back to the 1980s in the United States.

Nevertheless, urban policy demonstrates a steady trend toward the formation of a vertical silhouette: over the past 15 years, Ljubljana has seen the construction of the Situla, Kristalna palača, InterContinental, Grand Plaza Hotel, Spektra, and the upcoming Emonika and Nordika projects.

What does this mean for the market?

Severnica is more than just another office building. It marks the northern part of Ljubljana’s transition to a fully-fledged business cluster.

If the project is implemented as announced, the city will gain:
– one of the most recognizable architectural landmarks
– a large office center with an international presence
– increased competition in the modern office space segment

The implementation timeline remains unclear, but the fact that the permit has been received means the project has moved from the conceptual stage to the legally secured phase.

This material was prepared specifically for the website of the ALTUM CAPITAL real estate agency.

Sources:
https://www.metropolitan.si/novice/slovenija/stolp-severnica-gradbeno-dovoljenje/
https://slovenskenovice.delo.si/novice/slovenija/v-ljubljani-bo-stala-114-metrska-stolpnica
https://info360.si/aktualno/siska-postaja-obmocje-neboticnikov-zrasla-bo-100-metrska-stolpnica/