Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Outline

Title
Abstract
Figures
References
All Topics
Art
Architecture

Unfinished Modernisations - Between Utopia and Pragmatism

Profile image of Vladimir KulićVladimir KulićProfile image of Višnja KukočVišnja KukočProfile image of Jelica JovanovicJelica Jovanovic

2012

Abstract

"Winner of the Croatian Architects' Association's 2012 Neven Šegvić Award in the category of architectural publication, criticism, and theory. Unfinished Modernisations is a collaborative, long-term research platform on architecture and urban planning. It brought together partners from both institutional and non-institutional sectors from South-Eastern Europe: Museum of Architecture and Design, Ljubljana (Slovenia), Maribor Art Gallery (Slovenia), the Croatian Architects’ Association (project coordinator) and Oris House of Architecture, Zagreb (Croatia), the Belgrade Architects Society, Belgrade (Serbia) and the Coalition for Sustainable Development, Skopje (Macedonia). The project was aimed at fostering interdisciplinary research on the production of built environment in its social, political and cultural contexts. It encompassed the countries that succeeded former Yugoslavia, spanning the period from the inception of the socialist state until today. The topic of the researches was the way in which divergent concepts of modernization conditioned architecture, territorial transformations, and urban phenomena in socialist Yugoslavia and its successor states. Special attention is paid to critical re-reading of modernization processes and contextualization of local architectural and urban planning concepts within the framework of international evolution of architectural discourse. Unfinished Modernisations were carried out through a variety of activities: researches, 5 conferences (Zagreb, Skopje, Beograd, Split, Ljubljana), exhibitions, publications, and web-site/blog www.unfinishedmodernisations.net. The keynote speakers at the conferences included David Harvey, Vedran Mimica, Hilde Heynen, Ljiljana Blagojević, Tom Avermaete, Dietmar Steiner, Hans Ibelings, and many others. All these efforts culminated in the final exhibition in Maribor (Slovenia), the 2012 Cultural Capital of Europe. The exhibition was also shown in Belgrade (Serbia), Zadar (Croatia), and Ljubljana (Slovenia), and will travel to various international destinations."

Figures (70)
to become dilapidated, while the colloquial commentaries state that they are ‘over- modern’. And to that extent, today, too, the continuities of modernisations coexist with interruptions. While the results of socialist urbanisation continue to be used, while their achievements are on the whole valued more and more affirmatively, the idea about urban development for the benefit of the public good has been totally depressed into the area of individual, practically heterotopian and isolated architectural accomplishments. Whether the experiences and resources of the unfinished modernisations can be reactivated—particularly the lesson that inter- ruptions are not necessarily also endings—is both a political and an architectural question. Construction Site of New Belgrade to become dilapidated, while the colloquial commentaries state that they are ‘over- architectural accomplishments. Whether the experiences and resources of the
to become dilapidated, while the colloquial commentaries state that they are ‘over- modern’. And to that extent, today, too, the continuities of modernisations coexist with interruptions. While the results of socialist urbanisation continue to be used, while their achievements are on the whole valued more and more affirmatively, the idea about urban development for the benefit of the public good has been totally depressed into the area of individual, practically heterotopian and isolated architectural accomplishments. Whether the experiences and resources of the unfinished modernisations can be reactivated—particularly the lesson that inter- ruptions are not necessarily also endings—is both a political and an architectural question. Construction Site of New Belgrade to become dilapidated, while the colloquial commentaries state that they are ‘over- architectural accomplishments. Whether the experiences and resources of the
increasing number of educated architects and the scope of building did not lead to a increasing number of educated architects and the scope of building did not lead toa general growth in architectural culture, which during the whole of the socialist perioc remained at about the same level. But the leading creative personalities did achieve considerable social and professional reputations, through their academic work, pro- motion in publications and the dynamics of the scene, which included the distributior of professional prizes, defining the aesthetic and conceptual outlines of the activity, the effect of which was to maintain the level of architectural culture, and this in turn had a positive effect on the wholesale development of the environment. As in the first phase, the projects of the second, more complex, phase of urbanisa- tion from the mid-I960s to the end of the 1970s, such as the expansion of Split or the reconstruction of Skopje after the earthquake, were only partially accomplished. The completed segments suggest what the ideal modernised city could be - with all the advantages and failures of the architectural and planning ideas of the 20th century. Even uncompleted, all these projects ultimately came to life, providing home for the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. They have become integral parts of broader urban identities that people no longer read through the prism of socialist ideology but through their functional and spatial qualities. Such urban identity and functional- ity of socialist modernisation is a common, trans-national achievement that links together the urban environments in the region. The discontinuities and lurches of modernisations relate not only to the watershed historical moments but also to the reactions to the less drastic internal changes of Yugoslavia. The language and typology of western corporate (post-modern) archi- tecture from the mid-1970s were implemented in the social context as a result of the
increasing number of educated architects and the scope of building did not lead to a increasing number of educated architects and the scope of building did not lead toa general growth in architectural culture, which during the whole of the socialist perioc remained at about the same level. But the leading creative personalities did achieve considerable social and professional reputations, through their academic work, pro- motion in publications and the dynamics of the scene, which included the distributior of professional prizes, defining the aesthetic and conceptual outlines of the activity, the effect of which was to maintain the level of architectural culture, and this in turn had a positive effect on the wholesale development of the environment. As in the first phase, the projects of the second, more complex, phase of urbanisa- tion from the mid-I960s to the end of the 1970s, such as the expansion of Split or the reconstruction of Skopje after the earthquake, were only partially accomplished. The completed segments suggest what the ideal modernised city could be - with all the advantages and failures of the architectural and planning ideas of the 20th century. Even uncompleted, all these projects ultimately came to life, providing home for the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. They have become integral parts of broader urban identities that people no longer read through the prism of socialist ideology but through their functional and spatial qualities. Such urban identity and functional- ity of socialist modernisation is a common, trans-national achievement that links together the urban environments in the region. The discontinuities and lurches of modernisations relate not only to the watershed historical moments but also to the reactions to the less drastic internal changes of Yugoslavia. The language and typology of western corporate (post-modern) archi- tecture from the mid-1970s were implemented in the social context as a result of the
studies that depict the most important processes of urbanisation, almost all of them uncompleted, in an attempt to understand the relation between architecture and so- cial reality. Much of the research is still in progress, so we are not aiming at scholarly precision and comprehensiveness, but at a broad description of the circumstances that produced certain pieces of architecture and of the modernising effects of these buildings and their significance today. The focus is not only on outstanding architec- ture in the narrow sense, but also on various ideas and actions that participated in the broader modernising trends: improving the living conditions, the formation of the spatial framework and infrastructures for modern events, developments of cities... It is not our intention to look nostalgically back at historical events, but to critically read the ways in which modern values and ambitions were interpreted and produced: social justice, the public domain, cultural advancement, social solidarity, and the dissemination and exchange of knowledge. Although the social reality in socialist Yugoslavia was by no means an ideal realisation of progressive values, it was still marked by consistent efforts to put them into practice with the full participation of architecture and urbanism. Finally, we want to draw attention toa acultural layer of the region’s recent history chic Dose <avzelilgecce seul ces crcee conmicnnecenn| eas, Split Il today
studies that depict the most important processes of urbanisation, almost all of them uncompleted, in an attempt to understand the relation between architecture and so- cial reality. Much of the research is still in progress, so we are not aiming at scholarly precision and comprehensiveness, but at a broad description of the circumstances that produced certain pieces of architecture and of the modernising effects of these buildings and their significance today. The focus is not only on outstanding architec- ture in the narrow sense, but also on various ideas and actions that participated in the broader modernising trends: improving the living conditions, the formation of the spatial framework and infrastructures for modern events, developments of cities... It is not our intention to look nostalgically back at historical events, but to critically read the ways in which modern values and ambitions were interpreted and produced: social justice, the public domain, cultural advancement, social solidarity, and the dissemination and exchange of knowledge. Although the social reality in socialist Yugoslavia was by no means an ideal realisation of progressive values, it was still marked by consistent efforts to put them into practice with the full participation of architecture and urbanism. Finally, we want to draw attention toa acultural layer of the region’s recent history chic Dose <avzelilgecce seul ces crcee conmicnnecenn| eas, Split Il today
EDVARD RAVNIKAR and collaborators, Competition project for the Headquarters of Yugoslav Communist Party, regulatory plan for New Belgrade EDVARD RAVNIKAR and collaborators, Competition project for the Headquarters of Yugoslav Communist Party, Second variant
EDVARD RAVNIKAR and collaborators, Competition project for the Headquarters of Yugoslav Communist Party, regulatory plan for New Belgrade EDVARD RAVNIKAR and collaborators, Competition project for the Headquarters of Yugoslav Communist Party, Second variant
MARIJAN HABERLE Extension of Zagreb Fair, today Technical Museum, Zagreb
MARIJAN HABERLE Extension of Zagreb Fair, today Technical Museum, Zagreb
Exhibition 100 years of industrial production of chairs, types of Stol factory chairs designed by Niko Kralj and others
Exhibition 100 years of industrial production of chairs, types of Stol factory chairs designed by Niko Kralj and others
First conference of the Non- alignment movement held in Belgrade, with 25 countries taking part. Yugoslav delegation consists of Josip Broz Tito, Edvard Kardelj, Koéa Popovic, Vladimir Bakaricé and Veljko Viahovic. Disastrous earthquake destroys Skopje. 1,070 dead, 2,900 injured and four fifths of the houses in the town are destroyed. Currency reform launched. Process of liberalisation of the foreign currency regime foreseen, in phases. For the first time it was possible to keep foreign currency ina private account, with initial deposit of ten dollars.
First conference of the Non- alignment movement held in Belgrade, with 25 countries taking part. Yugoslav delegation consists of Josip Broz Tito, Edvard Kardelj, Koéa Popovic, Vladimir Bakaricé and Veljko Viahovic. Disastrous earthquake destroys Skopje. 1,070 dead, 2,900 injured and four fifths of the houses in the town are destroyed. Currency reform launched. Process of liberalisation of the foreign currency regime foreseen, in phases. For the first time it was possible to keep foreign currency ina private account, with initial deposit of ten dollars.
Amendments to Constitution and Labour Law. Maspok - mass movement - in Croatia; politicians of the Croatian Spring forced to resign - Savka Dapéevic- Kuéar and Miko Tripalo. ‘Cadre’ changes in media and universities. Matica hrvatska and Prosvjeta, culture organisations, abolished. Ivo BreSan writes one of the best tragic-comedies from this area - the Performance of Hamlet in the Village of MrduSa Donja.
Amendments to Constitution and Labour Law. Maspok - mass movement - in Croatia; politicians of the Croatian Spring forced to resign - Savka Dapéevic- Kuéar and Miko Tripalo. ‘Cadre’ changes in media and universities. Matica hrvatska and Prosvjeta, culture organisations, abolished. Ivo BreSan writes one of the best tragic-comedies from this area - the Performance of Hamlet in the Village of MrduSa Donja.
Diary oF a Love by Josipa Lisac, first conceptual rock album in Yugoslavia. Produced and written by Karlo Metikos and Ivica Krajaé, played by the best Zagreb musicians. New constitution of SFRY adopted. Constitutional amendments create the autonomous provinces of Voyvodina and Kosovo.
Diary oF a Love by Josipa Lisac, first conceptual rock album in Yugoslavia. Produced and written by Karlo Metikos and Ivica Krajaé, played by the best Zagreb musicians. New constitution of SFRY adopted. Constitutional amendments create the autonomous provinces of Voyvodina and Kosovo.
MARIJAN HRZIC, ZVONIMIR KRZNARIC, DAVOR MANCE Crematorium, Mirogoj, Zagreb
MARIJAN HRZIC, ZVONIMIR KRZNARIC, DAVOR MANCE Crematorium, Mirogoj, Zagreb
Museum of Aviation, Belgrade IVAN STRAUS
Museum of Aviation, Belgrade IVAN STRAUS
In the late 1940s, New Belgrade was envisioned as one of the new centers of the communist world. The new building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party was supposed to be at its center, just like the the ill-fated Palace of the Soviets was supposed to be the centeripiece of Moscow. Unhappy with the first round of the competition, Tito required Yugoslavia’s top architects to design a building reminiscent of the ‘prow of a ship that clears its way through the waves,’ featuring the ‘eternal beauty of Greek columns.’ Yet architects were still reluctant to adopt historicism and there was no winner again. After Yugoslavia was expelled from Soviet orbit in June 1948. the proiect was abandoned altogether. n the late 1940s, New Belgrade was envisioned as one of the new centers of the communist world. The new building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party was supposed to be at its center, just like the the
In the late 1940s, New Belgrade was envisioned as one of the new centers of the communist world. The new building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party was supposed to be at its center, just like the the ill-fated Palace of the Soviets was supposed to be the centeripiece of Moscow. Unhappy with the first round of the competition, Tito required Yugoslavia’s top architects to design a building reminiscent of the ‘prow of a ship that clears its way through the waves,’ featuring the ‘eternal beauty of Greek columns.’ Yet architects were still reluctant to adopt historicism and there was no winner again. After Yugoslavia was expelled from Soviet orbit in June 1948. the proiect was abandoned altogether. n the late 1940s, New Belgrade was envisioned as one of the new centers of the communist world. The new building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party was supposed to be at its center, just like the the
Central Committee of the CPY, competition entry, second prize, first ranking, New Belgrade, 1947 erro Competition brief for the building of the Central Committee c the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in New Belgrade, 1946
Central Committee of the CPY, competition entry, second prize, first ranking, New Belgrade, 1947 erro Competition brief for the building of the Central Committee c the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in New Belgrade, 1946
Central Committee of the CPY, pre-competition study, competition entry won second prize, third ranking, New Belgrade, 1947
Central Committee of the CPY, pre-competition study, competition entry won second prize, third ranking, New Belgrade, 1947
NIKOLA DOBROVIC and the team of the Institute of Urban Plannin; of PR Serbia Central Committee of the CPY, competition entry, second prize, second ranking, New Belgrade, 1947
NIKOLA DOBROVIC and the team of the Institute of Urban Plannin; of PR Serbia Central Committee of the CPY, competition entry, second prize, second ranking, New Belgrade, 1947
Presidency of Federal Government under construction Sketch for a redesign of the Federal Executive Council, 1954 Presidency of Federal Government, New Belgrade, 1947 large wave of socialist modernization of the 1950s.
Presidency of Federal Government under construction Sketch for a redesign of the Federal Executive Council, 1954 Presidency of Federal Government, New Belgrade, 1947 large wave of socialist modernization of the 1950s.
The construction of the Federal Government started in 1948, but it was soon interrupted because of the break with the USSR. The redesign in the mid-1950s removed the original classicizing overtones, achiev- ing a lighter and more transparent style in line with the contemporaneous appeals for a new modernist monumentality.
The construction of the Federal Government started in 1948, but it was soon interrupted because of the break with the USSR. The redesign in the mid-1950s removed the original classicizing overtones, achiev- ing a lighter and more transparent style in line with the contemporaneous appeals for a new modernist monumentality.
avant-garde circle around the
avant-garde circle around the
Le Soir (Brussels), 1958 YUGOSLAVIA DID IN BRUSSELS AS IT DOES IN ITS INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. PARTING WAYS WITH THE SOVIET SECTOR... IT CHOSE ITS PLACE NEXT TO PORTUGAL, SWITZERLAND, AND GREAT BRIT- AIN. NEXT TO ITS INOFFENSIVE FRIENDS. VYVWENVEOLAV MIUMIEN The Pavilion of Yugoslavia at EXPO 58, Brussels, 1956-58
Le Soir (Brussels), 1958 YUGOSLAVIA DID IN BRUSSELS AS IT DOES IN ITS INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. PARTING WAYS WITH THE SOVIET SECTOR... IT CHOSE ITS PLACE NEXT TO PORTUGAL, SWITZERLAND, AND GREAT BRIT- AIN. NEXT TO ITS INOFFENSIVE FRIENDS. VYVWENVEOLAV MIUMIEN The Pavilion of Yugoslavia at EXPO 58, Brussels, 1956-58
Tito at the United Nations General Assembly, 1963 WE FEEL THAT THIS BROAD DISPLAY OF INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY [FOR SKOPJE] ALSO REFLECTED THE DESIRE OF THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF PEOPLES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TO PREVENT THE FAR GREATER CATASTROPHE WHICH A NUCLEAR WAR WOULD BRING UPON MANKIND. AT THE SAME TIME, THIS DISPLAY OF SOLIDARITY EXPRESSED, IN ITS OWN WAY, THE STRIVINGS TOWARDS NEW, MORE HUMANE RELATIONS IN THE WORLD, OF RELATIONS WHEREIN THE WELFARE OF EACH AND EVERY NATION WOULD BE IN THE INTEREST OF THE WORLD COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
Tito at the United Nations General Assembly, 1963 WE FEEL THAT THIS BROAD DISPLAY OF INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY [FOR SKOPJE] ALSO REFLECTED THE DESIRE OF THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF PEOPLES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TO PREVENT THE FAR GREATER CATASTROPHE WHICH A NUCLEAR WAR WOULD BRING UPON MANKIND. AT THE SAME TIME, THIS DISPLAY OF SOLIDARITY EXPRESSED, IN ITS OWN WAY, THE STRIVINGS TOWARDS NEW, MORE HUMANE RELATIONS IN THE WORLD, OF RELATIONS WHEREIN THE WELFARE OF EACH AND EVERY NATION WOULD BE IN THE INTEREST OF THE WORLD COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
Poljud Stadium, Split, 1976-79
Poljud Stadium, Split, 1976-79
Branko Mikulic, President of the Organizing Committee of the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, 1984 Congress Center Sava and Belgrade-Intercontinental Hotel, New Belgrade, 1976-79 OLYMPISM IS A PHILOSOPHY WHOSE HUMANE IDEALS ARE IDENTICAL WITH THE PEACE POLICY OF TITO’S NON-ALIGNED YUGOSLAVIA.
Branko Mikulic, President of the Organizing Committee of the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, 1984 Congress Center Sava and Belgrade-Intercontinental Hotel, New Belgrade, 1976-79 OLYMPISM IS A PHILOSOPHY WHOSE HUMANE IDEALS ARE IDENTICAL WITH THE PEACE POLICY OF TITO’S NON-ALIGNED YUGOSLAVIA.
IN THE MANY COUNTRIES | HAVE VISITED, | HAVE LAID WREATHS AT MANY MONUMENTS. BUT SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AND MAGNIFICENT MONUMENT AS THIS ONE HERE, | HAVE NEVER SEEN... FROM THE HILL ON WHICH THE MEMORIAL STANDS, | WATCHED TODAY MANY NEW BUILDINGS AND TALL SKYSCRAPERS. I HAVE EXPERIENCED IT ALL AS A HARMONIOUS WHOLE: ON ONE SIDE, THE MAGNIFICENT MEMORIAL TO THE FALLEN VICTIMS, ON THE OTHER, BELOW, THE NEW MODERN QUARTERS OF THE CITY. HOW BEAUTI- FULLY IT ALL COMPLEMENTS EACH OTHER, INTERTWINES, AND COMES TOGETHER. BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC
IN THE MANY COUNTRIES | HAVE VISITED, | HAVE LAID WREATHS AT MANY MONUMENTS. BUT SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AND MAGNIFICENT MONUMENT AS THIS ONE HERE, | HAVE NEVER SEEN... FROM THE HILL ON WHICH THE MEMORIAL STANDS, | WATCHED TODAY MANY NEW BUILDINGS AND TALL SKYSCRAPERS. I HAVE EXPERIENCED IT ALL AS A HARMONIOUS WHOLE: ON ONE SIDE, THE MAGNIFICENT MEMORIAL TO THE FALLEN VICTIMS, ON THE OTHER, BELOW, THE NEW MODERN QUARTERS OF THE CITY. HOW BEAUTI- FULLY IT ALL COMPLEMENTS EACH OTHER, INTERTWINES, AND COMES TOGETHER. BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC
Memorial Center, KolaSin, 1969-75
Memorial Center, KolaSin, 1969-75
Tito’s birth house in Kumrovec.
Tito’s birth house in Kumrovec.
MIHAILO JANKOVIC Museum May 25, Belgrade, 1962
MIHAILO JANKOVIC Museum May 25, Belgrade, 1962
People’s Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, sketch, 1955, and as realized in the 1970s time in history, others after long historical gaps. The construction of national capitals and institutional
People’s Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, sketch, 1955, and as realized in the 1970s time in history, others after long historical gaps. The construction of national capitals and institutional
BORIS CIPAN Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, 1970 IVO KURTOVIC National Library of Serbia, Belgrade, 1965-73
BORIS CIPAN Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, 1970 IVO KURTOVIC National Library of Serbia, Belgrade, 1965-73
The project Unfinished Modernisations was commenced on the initiative of the CCA/Croatian Architects’ Association in collaboration with other partners.
The project Unfinished Modernisations was commenced on the initiative of the CCA/Croatian Architects’ Association in collaboration with other partners.

Related papers

Zagreb's Architectural and Urban Development - From Tito's Death to the 2020 Earthquakes, in: The City in Transition. Transformation Processes in Southeastern Europe since the 1980s, ed. by Daniela Simon, Tübingen, Berlin, Boston, 2024, 231-261
Dragan Damjanovic

The City in Transition. Transformation Processes in Southeastern Europe since the 1980s, 2024

The aim of this chapter is to present the basic features of the architectural and urban development of the city of Zagreb (Agram in German, Zágráb in Hungarian) from the early 1980s to the 2020 earthquakes from a perspective of art history, or more precisely, architectural history. Tito's death stands as the symbolic starting point for the analysis since it marked the beginning of both an economic and subsequently political crisis and the intensification of ethnic conflicts in Yugoslavia. The endpoint of the analyzed period is defined by the earthquakes that hit Zagreb and northern Croatia on 22 March and 29 December 2020, respectively.

View PDFchevron_right
Skopje 2014-Musealizing the City, Re-inventing History?
Mishko Ralev

kppcenter.org

Under the headline ‚Skopje 2014' the city center of Macedonia's capital is currently undergoing a largescale, government-sponsored transformation. This apparently political undertaking features numerous monuments depicting historical figures, who are claimed by various nation-states in the Balkans, and a variety of public buildings, whose anachronistic architectural style borrows heavily from long-gone eras. Buildings from the Yugoslav past are being concealed or blocked from view. This paper aims to go beyond interrogations that are merely centered on the intransparent decisionmaking processes and the disputable allocation of public funds for a project that ultimately musealizes the city. While such critiques are justified, especially in the light of Macedonia's current economic conditions and its intent to enter the Europen Union, I will argue that ‚Skopje 2014' tries to construct a specific narrative of Macedonian identity by weaving a continuity -from antiquity over the middle ages to the times of Macedonia's struggle for nationhood -into the fabric of Skopje's built environment. The transformation is not only characterized by the new structures and their questionable aesthetics, but also by strategically patterned silences and omissions, such as Macedonia's Yugoslav past and the presence of religious and ethnic minorities such as Albanian, Turkish or Roma, and their cultural and political manifestations. While the construction works are progressing steadily, the government keeps avoiding any public debate about the goal and the nationalist tone of the project. Resistance by the opposition and civil society actors (scholars, architects, NGOs etc.) is growing but remains fragmented between questions of economic and aesthetic rationales, claims of corruption and minority-nationalist sentiments.

View PDFchevron_right
Globalization as a Redefining Praxis of the Built Heritage of Belgrade
Anđela M . Dukić

PT24: 9th International Academic Conference on Places and Technologies , 2025

ABSTRACT The announcement focuses on defining and analyzing the problems of globalization practices using examples of recent changes in the urban and architectural structure of Belgrade. Seen from the point of view of a wider sociopolitical and cultural framework, the dichotomies between the city cores and the newly created matrices will be explained while considering the plans for the next period. As established, historically grounded, and structurally justified spatial units are redefined through the processes of rapid changes, Belgrade’s architectural heritage successively disappears before the waves of investor urbanism. The focus of the research is based on selected examples from the 21st century in the form of case studies. Problems of denivelation, expansion, insertion into existing cores, security and infrastructural risks, as well as permanent damage to the city’s identification sights, will be shown. In line with the above, we will talk about the problems of protecting established spatial entities as well as individual buildings of eminent architects whose creative contributions marked the architectural history of Belgrade. In addition, we will discuss the lack of publicly available information about current projects that should be accessible to both scientific/professional, and wider social strata, and the consequences of this kind of non-transparency. The principles of anonymity, which make it impossible to see the author’s contributions to the project documentation, and the practice of participation in large architectural bureaus will be problematized. In this case, the focus will also be placed on the difficulty of applying the factual model to write subsequent papers, which further impairs the possibility of the next stages - valorization and comparison. Finally, we will discuss the perception of historiographers, publicists, and critics about current construction practices with emphasis on the need to deepen the issue of the architecture of globalization in scientific and professional circles. Keywords: globalization, architecture, urbanism, Belgrade

View PDFchevron_right
Architecture that brings urban transformation, the case of two buildings in the Montenegrin city of Nikšić
Vladimir Bojkovic

CHANCES. Practices, Spaces and Buildings in Cities' Transformation, 2021

The aim of this paper is to show the cultural phenomena created by the construction of two buildings in a socialist, industrial city that have influenced its urban transformation. In the case of the second largest Montenegrin city, Nikšić, two buildings marked the cultural and economic development, the Union house built in 1962 by architect Đorđije Minjević (1924-2013) and the Home of revolution unfinished building which construction began in 1977, designed by architect Marko Mušič (1946). The Union house was among the first in Montenegro built in an international style and among the first in ex-Yugoslavia with vertical brise-solei. The building contains several functions: a large cinema hall with 800 seats as well the library, classrooms and offices for the Worker’s University. For industrial city that was rapidly developing, the existence of the Union house as a place where film projections, concerts, theatre performances, and education took place was of great importance. In the context of architecture, this building brought new trends and contents that soon became focus of everyday urban life. In the former Yugoslavia during the seventies, it was common to build monuments and memorial buildings dedicated to victims of the liberation struggles in the Second World War. The biggest memorial buildings with more the 22,000 square meters of different functions and contents, called the Home of Revolution is located in the city of Nikšić. The building should present the economic strength of the city at that time but also the unity of all Yugoslav nations, since a large number of donation from all over the country were used for the construction. When Yugoslavia broke up in 1991, there was a suspension of construction of all federal projects including Home of Revolution. Today the building is completely abandoned.

View PDFchevron_right
IFAU19 - 3rd International Forum for Architecture and Urbanism. Modernisation and Globalization: Challenges and opportunities in architecture, urbanism, cultural heritage.
Florian Nepravishta

Paper proceedings book, 2020

After the first edition of the IFAU 2017 – International Forum on Architecture and Urbanism organised in Tirana, and the second edition of the IFAU 2018 organised in Pescara, Italy, the Polytechnic University of Tirana – Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU) is organising the third edition: IFAU 2019 – International Forum on Architecture and Urbanism in Tirana, Albania on November 21 - 23, 2019, with the theme “Modernization and Globalization.” IFAU 2019 – 3rd International Forum on Architecture and Urbanism aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers, and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results about all aspects of Architecture, Urbanism, Cultural Heritage within Modernisation and Globalisation trends of the XXI century. It also provides the premier interdisciplinary Forum for researchers, practitioners, and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns, practical challenges encountered, and the solutions adopted for the Modernisation and Globalisation in the Cities in Transition. The third edition expands the horizon by introducing a series of overlapping visions spanning the recently institutionalised Adriatic - Ionian Euroregion, now extended to the Balkan and South-East European regions. The Forum will concentrate on Architecture, Urbanism, Cultural Heritage located in contexts and territories that reveal their tendencies to Modernisation and Globalisation. Modernisation and Globalization Architecture, Urbanism and Heritage provide a multi-faceted analysis that is based on the understandings of architects and urban planners working in both the developed and developing countries traditions. Globalisation is a broad concept concerning the diversity of regions, cultures, and actors and the diversity of analytical approaches that can be employed to study it. During the past decade, notions of globalisation have displaced familiar discourses of modernisation. We consider Modernisation and Globalization as a process that naturally links the past, the present and the future - as a bridge between the past and the future. Current events such as the cultural heritage protection crisis illustrate that the discussion should not be confined to specific geographic regions or narrowly defined analysis methods but in a broader and deeper search spectrum. The research presented in this Forum embraces the need to cover various aspects and dimensions of Modernisation and Globalisation in Architecture, Urbanism and Cultural Heritage, to see both its local and its global manifestations. From our perspective, globalisation studies imply research that is not just limited to the most popular spheres of globalisation but also includes the study of global problems such as sustainable development, cultural heritage, etc. In summary, the distinctive character of Modernisation and Globalisation is that it delivers an extensive international and multicultural thematic issue associated with Architecture, Urbanism and Cultural Heritage, including their impact on particular cultural-geographic regions. The Modernisation and Globalisation of territories and cities in transition is the object of this Forum. Through contributions from colleagues and scholars from different international universities, the intention is to explore different interpretations of contexts, to study processes of Modernisation and Globalisation in territories and cities in transition, to define strategies for urban transformation and to confront issues raised by environmental and architectural sustainability, all framed by an up-to-date and contemporary vision of the entire Adriatic-Ionian and Balkan region. Culture and the strength of ideas are viewed as the essential tools for building bridges between knowledge and rediscovering, in a new relationship between Architecture, Urbanism and Cultural Heritage, the key to interpreting the processes transforming territories and cities. The conference program will include the topic of interest that include, but are not limited to: 1. Global/local modernisations; 2. XXth century modernism and the question of cultural heritage; 3. Phenomena of regeneration, revitalisation, recycling, reuse; 4. Modernisation/globalisation of urban planning/design and landscapes; 5. Modern housing; 6. Modern designing and daily life/universal design; 7. The utilisation of future technologies; 8. Sustainability in the era of modernisation/globalisation.

View PDFchevron_right
The Museum of Modern Art in Skopje and the Potentiality of an Exhibition Space
Aleksandra Kędziorek

published in "Team 10 East. Revisionist Architecture in Real Existing Socialism", ed. Łukasz Stanek, Warsaw 2014.

View PDFchevron_right
Modernism in the Case of Cultural Architecture in Yugoslavia
Adnan Zoranic

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Volume 960, 5th World Multidisciplinary Civil Engineering-Architecture-Urban Planning Symposium – WMCAUS 15-19 June 2020, Prague, Czech Republic, 2020

As a result of very strong and organised antifascist resistance on domestic territory during the World War II and historical conditions in the rest of Europe, new established socialist country Yugoslavia on geostrategic games was planned to stay part of the eastern block in the new division of postwar Europe. But just three years after the war Yugoslavian political establishment led by charismatic president Tito, despite the serious threats from USSR and Stalin, he decided to start with their own way of socialism based on self-management with reduced influence of the state into the economy, society and culture. The result was an atypical socialist system for that time, which was very open to the world, but especially to Western Europe and the USA. During the whole history, architecture was always the best representation of historical developments and social circumstances in different civilisations through different periods. Yugoslavian modernist architecture developed by domestic architects, influenced by modernist ideas from Central and Western Europe and with phenomenological support of the state can be considered as an indicator of social and cultural movements during the existence of that avant-garde socialist country from 1945-1990. Through the research of different study cases and examples of architecture from socialist Yugoslavia and studies of relevant scientists from the field of architecture and sociology, as a predominant methodology for this study, relations between architecture and socioeconomic and cultural conditions will be investigated. In accordance with the declared ideas for general modernisation of the entire society, modernist architecture in Yugoslavia was widely accepted as a tool for the realisation of proclaimed ideals for open, human oriented and contemporary society. The architecture of cultural buildings was some of the best examples for the mentioned direction in the content, but even more in conceptual and visual expression. The Yugoslavian architecture of the representative cultural centres, museums, libraries and concert halls are some of the most successful realizations of modernism in the region of south east Europe, but even much wider. At the same time, these buildings were witnessing well organized, state supported institutional work that was able to arrange some of the most prominent cultural activities on the highest world level.

View PDFchevron_right
Belgrade as European Capital of Culture: Conceptual conjunction
Ivana Volic

Spatium, 2012

The review is concerned with a multi-disciplinary approach to spatial, regional and urban planning and architecture, as well as with various aspects of land use, including housing, environment and related themes and topics. It attempts to contribute to better theoretical understanding of a new spatial development processes and to improve the practice in the field.

View PDFchevron_right
Slovenia Heritage of the 19TH and 20TH Centuries at Risk
Sonja Ifko

Heritage at Risk, 2020

View PDFchevron_right
Museum and galleries of Ljubljana
Mojca Savnik

2011

Digital Library of Slovenia dLib.si is a web portal for free accessing to digital and digitized library materials and virtual exhibitions. This paper is describing the use of 3D technologies in development and preparation of exhibition Virtual Emona. The title is related to Roman settlement Emona (Colonia Iulia Emona), which was located on a place, where present city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is lying today. Content of the exhibition in 3D form will be public accessible on dLib.si and it will be linked to other resources about Emona on the same web portal. The beginning phase of the project includes 3D digitization of the model of archaeological site NUK II and 3D digitization of some artefacts, found on the mentioned site. NUK II consists of four Emona’s insulas (building blocks) and crossing of two roads between them; under the road which ran in direction E-W, laid a cloaca. In late Roman period three of four researched insulas (XVII, XIII, XXVII) were thermal city ba...

View PDFchevron_right

References (1)

  1. VoJin BAkić with BerislAV ŠerBetić Memorial, Petrova gora, 1979-81 MeMory eDVArD rAVnikAr Memorial Complex kampor, rab, 1953

Related papers

Maribor 1960 – 1980, Seven originals and three renovations, a paper for the 5th H&MH CICOP Conference, Sarajevo, april 2013
Andrej Smid

The role of architecture in Maribor, Slovenia, is similar to other post WW2 modernist urban city developments, yet the transformations and architectures in the city centre are different. The postwar urban planning in Maribor, Slovenia begun with the Ljubo Humek urban regulation plan for the whole city in 1949, but in the city fabric very concise architecture stories are written: Maribor city structure was heavily bombed in 1944 and 1945 and the reconstruction of the ruined buildings allowed the urban planners to introduce a new series of public buildings to the city. Apparently the architects have done a sensible job in detailed urban planning -they understood and followed the city elements of square, street and city block perfectly and built architecture with small gestures that are fully preserved on architectural and urban planning level.

View PDFchevron_right
Slovenia: an architectural heritage moving forward
Andrej Hrausky

Architectural Design, 2006

Slovenia has a rich history of Modern architecture. Its capital, Ljubljana, is well known for the distinctive buildings of Joze Plecnik as well as those of the Secessionist and Functionalist eras. Since opening up to the West in the early 1990s, a younger generation of Slovene architects has been propelled to the fore, who have been able to benefit from the advantages of exposure to international teaching and ideas. Andrej Hrausky describes the historical and national context in which contemporary Slovene architects work and asks how their output might relate to it in the future. 40 Josip Vancas, City Savings Bank, Ljubljana, 1904 At the turn of the 20th century, during the period of Slovene nationalism, only architects of Slovene origin, like Josip Vancas, were allowed to build in Ljubljana. His Art Nouveau architecture had its roots in the school of Otto Wagner in Vienna, where more severe Classicism could be found.

View PDFchevron_right
Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia 1948-1980, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, ARTMargins Online (28 February 2019).
Iva Glisic

ARTMargins Online, 2019

View PDFchevron_right
Bye bye 20th century, a paper for the Architecture and Ideology conference Belgrade, september 2012
Andrej Smid

| From a two decades time distance the face of almost every former Yugoslav city appears to reveal three distinctive urban entities: they show three different faces: the »brave new city« of the socialist era; the »charming, always regenerating old, classical city« and the brutal, illegal, »under the carpet« city. All of them are results of the city management streams and the power relationships in the carefully constructed appearance of the »socialist urban planning«. The city structure comparison of five ex Yugoslav cities -Belgrade, Sarajevo, Split, Priština and Maribor -shows similarities that are almost intentional. The urban planning attitude throughout the history reveals three powerful ways of thinking and acting that generated three city planning principles and resulted in built zones and structures: the developments of the functional city parts, the preservation of historical structures and the permissive, half illegal city extensions. After comparing these five cities today it only seems that the permissive, half illegal current is prevailing in the last twenty years of city development. Since the main urban development themes are not actual anymore, the former positions of the urban planners and architects are outdated; with the dissolution of the brave 20th century ideas the first decade of our century shows that the urban perception is altered -the positions of urban planning on the other side are mainly defended as unchangeable. To develop the ex Yugoslav cities with similar urban history there are two statements an urban planner of the 21st century has to take into consideration. The first is that the 20th century is over and its city development principles are outdated. The second painful statement is that the position of the urban planner and designer has been irreversibly changed.

View PDFchevron_right
Unfinished Modernisations: Reconstructing the Architectural History of Socialist Yugoslavia
Jelica Jovanovic

1,85 € 2 ¦ 2013 Current Issues of Central and eastern european arChIteCtural hIstorIography / proCeedIngs from the arChIteCtural hIstorIans ColloquIum Aktuálne témy Architektonickej historiogrAfie strednej A východnej európy / príspevky z vedeckého kolokviA historikov Architektúry 1135 2679 3 ¦ editorial editoriál henrieta moravčíková PAPERS prednáŠky 4 ¦ slovakia, or what could be the meaning of the architectural periphery? slovensko, alebo aký môže mať zmysel architektonická periféria? henrieta moravčíková 10 ¦ Is eastern european architecture Bound to speak? On Matters of Peripherality and Representation má sa východoeurópska architektúra vyjadrovať? Periferialita a reprezentácia Carmen popescu 16 ¦ unfinished modernisations: reconstructing the architectural history of socialist yugoslavia nedokončené modernizácie: rekonštrukcia dejín architektúry socialistickej juhoslávie maroje mrduljaš, Vladimir Kulić, Jelica Jovanović 24 ¦ on difficulties in Writing the history of romanian modern architecture problematika písania dejín modernej rumunskej architektúry ana maria Zahariade 28 ¦ michal milan harminc -Builder and architect of the Central european region Specifics of the personally-focused Historiography of Architecture michal milan harminc -staviteľ a architekt stredoeurópskeho priestoru Špecifiká osobnostnej historiografie architektúry Jana pohaničová and peter Buday 36 ¦ architectural and material research of peter Behrens synagogue in Žilina, slovakia Architektonický a materiálový výskum Behrensovej synagógy v Žiline peter szalay and magdaléna Kvasnicová 42 ¦ flavouring 'goulash Communism' Approaches to modern architecture in the early Kádár Era in Hungary (1957 -1963) dochutenie gulášu zvaného komunizmus Prístupy k modernej architektúre raného obdobia kádárovskej éry v Maďarsku (1957 -1963) mariann simon 48 ¦ Visions of anarchic space in 1980s estonian architecture and performance art vízie anarchického priestoru v estónskej architektúre osemdesiatych rokov 20. storočia a umenie performance Ingrid ruudi 56 ¦ slovak summary slovenské abstrakty 59 ¦ authors Autori

View PDFchevron_right

Related topics

  • Eastern European Studies
  • Architecture
  • Cold War and Culture
  • Modern Architecture
  • Yugoslavia (History)
  • History and Theory of Modern Arc...
    • 580 California St., Suite 400
    San Francisco, CA, 94104
    © 2025 Academia. All rights reserved