The intervention at the Gruž Market in Dubrovnik constitutes an architectural meditation on the coexistence of historical memory and contemporary infrastructure, situated within an enclave defined by the proximity of a Renaissance palace and the urban dynamism of the bay. The project transcends mere functional reorganisation of commercial stalls, advancing instead a strategy in which the roof becomes both climatic apparatus and civic artefact. Conceived as a sequence of low-profile folded planes, the structure refrains from visual competition with the surrounding heritage, preserving key sightlines towards the palace while establishing a renewed spatial order. The deliberate minimisation of vertical supports not only maximises programmatic flexibility, enabling seasonal and logistical reconfigurations, but also reinforces spatial continuity and pedestrian permeability. Cross-ventilation is ensured through the calibrated separation of roof planes and the open perimeter condition, generating a passive microclimate that mitigates intense summer radiation without severing the visual and atmospheric relationship with the maritime landscape. As a paradigmatic case, the market demonstrates how a lightweight structural system can operate simultaneously as environmental infrastructure, urban framework and respectful architectural gesture, synthesising weather protection, the dignification of local commerce and the consolidation of public space as a quotidian theatre of social exchange within a single, coherent design act.
