Preserving Cultural Heritage in CitiesMSc. Marta Vukotic Lazar, Historian of Art, TOWN PLANNING INSTITUTE OF BELGRADE, SERBIA marta.vukotic@urbel.com

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities:Belgrade Metropolitan and Belgrade Macro-regionCulturale paths and banch marks

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities

City governments and urban professionals all over the world use historical heritage as an instrument in promoting their cities’ qualities. The artistic qualities of the traditional town were founded on sequentional visual contrast.

The history of cities nowadays is one of the most used urban investment targets, and as such a subject of different kinds of research.

Old buildings are part of the town’s authenticity. Their preservation ensures the preservation of the town’s historical continuity.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities:Master Plan of Belgrade 2021

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities

Interactive protection of the cultural heritage has accepted as the way of sustainable development of the whole area and better-quality life in the city.

For the purpose of the preserving the overall picture of Belgrade, parts-elements, individual examples that are the pillars of the culture-historical overlapping through time and space, must be identified.

Belgrade has been devastated and redeveloped for countless times. Various cultures, nations and conquerors left different urban matrice and physical structure.

Appropriate valorization of the heritage and all subsequent steps that lead to the final aim – application of the integral conservation of the heritage – preserve the memory of the city, on one hand, as the basis for all future heritage, and, on the other hand, encourages industrial, economic, and cultural development of the city.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building“

NIKOLA DOBROVIĆ (February 12th 1897, Pecs, Hungary – January 11th. 1967, Belgrade)

Director of the Urban Institute of Serbia, The City Architect of Belgrade, professor at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade.Architect Nikola Dobrović has a special place in the history of the urban planning of Belgrade, among figures such as Emilijan Josimović, Alban Šambon, Georgij Pavlovič Kovaljevski etc.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Two large buildings, the Former Yugoslav army General Staff building and the Federal Ministry of Defense building (1954-1963), both located at the very heart of Belgrade at the intersection of two major Belgrade streets – Knez Milos St. and Nemanjina St., and known among architects as “DOBROVIC GENERAL STAFF”.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building“

B.Ilic, The construction of New Belgrade, National Museum of Belgrade, 1950.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Preliminary General urban Plan of Belgrade, done in 1948, managed by Nikola Dobrovic

General Plan of Belgrade, 1950.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

The symbolism of the complex of buildings of "Dobrovic´s General Staff“ in Belgrade corresponds with the symbolism of development of New Belgrade “central part of the future Big Belgrade“, which was managed by Dobrovic until the General Master Plan was passed 1950. He was both manager and the creator of the “Preliminary urban plan of Belgrade form 1948“.

The complexity of the assignment in the first place was exhibited in resolving the problems related to the grounds, located on a very important road, and in the second place in envisaging the narrow space, where the complex of buildings should be designed within the context of the previously developed ambient.

He managed resolve successfully two prominent problems :firstly an important road at the intersection of the Nemanjina St. and Knez Milos St., and secondly he defined this relatively narrow space by raising it both to the level of the city landscape, and a powerful urban planning accent of Belgrade.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Situation at the crossing of Nemanjina Street and Kneza Miloša Street, with the proposal of the extension of the south part, Belgrade, 1956-1963.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Emphasizing the character of the already existing ambient, as he did always before, he showed through this example that various architectural styles can develop together whereby, at the same time, each of them maintains its own aesthetic values.

The main mass of this twin edifice bent over Nemanjina St., ascending like a staircase towards the sky. At the same time, the play of volumes is different when observed from different angels.

The predominantly horizontally developed composition is marked by powerful stretches, expressive power of the wall surfaces, drawing lines and relation between developed and undeveloped surfaces.

Additionally constructed second wing contained a tower, rising like the finishing vertical accent of the whole composition.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

The block of buildings of the Ministry of Defense, the second constructed wing with the tower, Belgrade, 1954-1963.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

The portal motiv bending over Nemanjina St. was a subject of numerous disputes in the then Belgrade. Unable to continue explaining to people with differing opinions both the role this “portal“, on one hand, as the connective element of the two main structures, and on the other hand, an important urban planning benchmark, and idea of the whole complex of buildings in general, Nikola Dobrovic decided to reveal his “Theory of the engage space“.

Resting on Bergson´s diagrams, he created his own draft of the philisophy of work, along with a whole new picturesque dictionary as a proposal and preresquisite for the introduction of new terms like : visual dinamics, spatial energy, warm and cold tones, engaged spaces, carved spaces, lying architecture, urban planning harmony etc.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

The setting in motion of space and the ideological character

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

During the NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999. the complex was completely devastated. Its functional role ceased to exist; however , the symbolic character of the location persists even now when the complex is in debris warning that this is the ONLY WORK that Nikola Dobrovic realized in Belgrade.

Complete removal of this complex from the city map would disrupt such historic continuity of this space and one of the referential points of the city´s identity would vanish. The city undoubtedly fulfils itself through such public spaces of authentic typology, character and design.

Urban-chronological layers of this “quasi square“ or “Sutjeska Square“ as Dobrovic called his crossroad bear endless range of valuable meanings.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

B. Strugar, The block of buildings of the General Staff after the NATO bombardment, postcard, Belgrade, 1999.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: - example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

In valorization of this urban location through a careful and objective comparison of the value of different historical layers, it is important not to allow prevailing of the pressure imposed by circles that represent the petty and ideological interests the impair the idea of reconstruction of the most representative work of the Serbian and Belgrade architecture of the second half of the 20th century, developed in total harmony with the world and European trends in architecture and urban planning.

This impressive urban setting, a symbol of modernism in Serbia, enjoys the status of a cultural monument protected by low, being part of the architectural heritage the importance of which is not limited to Serbia.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Nikola Dobrovic‘s seal, stamp and watch Nikola Dobrovic was elected as an honorary cooresponding member of the RIBA

“ What is our assignment in this part of globe? Should it not be that we take this substance imported duty free, grind it in the domestic mill, adding the milling process all those ingredients, flavors and spaces of the domestic soil, domestic minds and souls which will convent it into our product – the product of our national school “

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “

Vava Stankovic, Nikola Dobrovic‘s bust placed in the hall of

the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, in 1996.

Regarding the complexity of this issue, the competent authorities have not brought any decision so far on the manner of further disposal with this Complex, that is, a “victim“ of violence and destruction. There is an increasing number of individuals who tend to belittle its importance, identifying it with the ideology and politics of the time of the Socialistic Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, emphasizing that it symbolize the identity of the oppressor and enemy, therefore, as such does no deserve to be restored.

What they neglect is that the complex stands for a superior example of the Serbian Architecture of the second half of the 20th century, and another fact is equally binding in this respect is that this is the only fully realized work of this outstanding urban planner, architect, artist and professor of the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade who educated a whole generation of today´s prominent constructors.

Preserving Cultural Heritage in Cities: Example of “ Dobrovic‘s General Staff Building “