Developer Optimal Development has begun construction of Matadorka Living, a residential-led mixed-use project on the site of the historic Smaltovňa building in the Petržalka district of Bratislava. The 1905 structure, designed by architect Heinrich Zieger and German firm Wayss & Freytag, once employed 910 people, roughly one third of Petržalka's population at the time. After decades of neglect, the site is now being transformed into a new local centre for the district.
Optimal Development, working alongside construction firm Skanska, has preserved 29 reinforced-concrete beams and the double-arch roof skeleton of the original 1905 building. These elements will be incorporated into the new architecture. The characteristic ochre-yellow bricks from the nearby Durvay brickworks, which operated adjacent to the site until 1944, will also return as a visual motif on the facades of the mixed-use sections of the development. At the groundbreaking ceremony on 15 October, one of the original Durvay bricks was placed in a time capsule alongside historical photographs of the Smaltovňa.
"The Smaltovňa was once a natural part of life in this part of Petržalka. Our goal is not to erase its history and simply build something new in its place. We want to build on it. People used to come here to work; today we want to create a place where they will live, work, meet and spend their time," said Oliver Kríž, project manager of Matadorka Living at Optimal Development.
The project will comprise five residential towers rising from the roof of the original double hall, three of them with ten above-ground floors and two with nine. In total, 267 apartments will be available, ranging from one-room units to five-room flats, including duplex loft units. The development will also include 486 parking spaces, office areas with coworking space, and retail premises intended to expand services near the Petržalka railway station, Vienna Gate and Kopčianska Street.
"The former Matador factory site has considerable historical value, but in recent decades it has been among the most neglected areas of Bratislava. It has all the conditions to become a natural part of the city. Our ambition is to bring urban life to this part of Petržalka," said Juraj Benetin of Compass Architekti, the architectural studio behind the project.
