Steel panels with Muralys® coating used in renovation of the Zagreb Music Academy

Detailed information

Basic requirements of the renovation project

The new Music Academy was designed by Croatian architect Milan Šosterič, who won the architectural competition for the project in 2004. The basic requirement for the design was the integration and refurbishment of the existing Ferimport Building, located on Marshal Tito Square in Zagreb's city centre. This industrial building from the 1960s is a protected architectural monument and as such was to be preserved in its basic form and features. The refurbishment included the reconstruction of its skeleton, the renovation of its characteristic industrial grid facade, and an extension of two floors in the rear part of the building that are enveloped in a curved steel cladding with rainbow colours.

At the beginning of the project, the plan was to preserve the Ferimport Building's original structure and repair and reinforce it where necessary. But as the works began in 2009, it was observed that the concrete and steel skeleton was extremely deteriorated and therefore needed to be demolished and reconstructed in its entirety in order to ensure safety and fulfil its new functions.

Latest technological solutions

Completed in September 2014, the building is equipped with the latest technological solutions for its users as well as the construction itself. These include a special insulation system and a measure to prevent the spreading of vibrations in the building's structure. In order to improve acoustic insulation, many rooms, especially the rehearsal rooms on the semi-circular upper floors, are designed with rounded and diagonal walls.

Rainbow coloured facade with ArcelorMittal steel

The new Music Academy's semi-circular upper floors are clad in rainbow coloured steel sheets supplied by ArcelorMittal Construction. The ST® sidings, part of ArcelorMittal Construction's aesthetic range, are coated with Muralys®, a special coating technology that allows the transfer of images onto the steel sheets.

Out-of-date becomes new and modern

It is the first time in 90 years that all departments of the Music Academy are united in one location. With the two new floors, the restored building offers 12 000 m2 of usable space, distributed on two underground levels and eight floors above ground. The academy's 150 full-time employees, dozens of external associates, and 550 students now all work in the same building. The Music Academy houses classrooms and lecture halls, offices, a library and reading room, individual rehearsal and training centres, a two-storey underground car park, a multimedia studio, a cafeteria, and two concert halls.