Housing for Resettlement Programs. Case Study of a Residential and Commercial Complex, Block 32A in Belgrade, Serbia

Housing for Resettlement Programs. Case Study of a Residential and Commercial Complex, Block 32a in Belgrade, Serbia

Dr. Vladan Djokić1 Zoran Lazović2 Dr. Verica Krstić3

1 Professor, Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 73/II, Belgrade, Serbia, [email protected] 2 Professor, Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 73/II, Belgrade, Serbia, [email protected] 3 Teaching Assistant, Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 73/II, Belgrade, Serbia, [email protected]

Picture 1. Residential and commercial complex between Gostivarska streetand boulevard Vojvode Stepe, Block 32a in Voždovac, Belgrade. Authors: Vladan Đokić, Zoran Lazović. 2008-2015. Investor - Belgrade Land Development Public Agency.

ABSTRACT

After the dynamics of thriving decades culminating in the eighties, when a staggering 10,000 – 14,000 dwellings were built annually, Belgrade has gone through different spells of ups and downs in housing and construction in the last decade. Although never as significant in scope or quality as the previous period, the more recent architecture, built housing projects and artifacts bear witness to a character and paradigm shift, as well as a transformation in policies, concepts and comprehensive state of affairs in our society. In the period of transition, Belgrade has become an experimental zone of super profit investments of transnational neoliberal capitalism. In that context, the mechanisms of housing development for specific social categories have finally been set in motion. A handful of developments of social-market and several buildings of welfare type have been built. This paper analyzes the contemporary context of housing construction in Belgrade through the model of housing for resettlement programs. It looks at the case study of a residential and commercial complex between Gostivarska and Vojvode Stepe streets, Block 32a in Belgrade by Vladan Djokić and Zoran Lazović as a model of low cost housing. The research results represent an analysis of models of low cost housing and a consideration of the possibility of improvement and development of these models for the future.

KEYWORDS resettlement programs, low cost housing, housing models, Belgrade

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY VLADAN DJOKIĆ – Ph.D., architect, Full Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Belgrade. He is the author of books and scientific papers in urban planning and urban morphology.

1 Introduction

Way of everyday life and dwelling culture, political and economic circumstances, as well as construction technology greatly influence the form and structure of dwelling, but nowadays social and economic status become the dominant factors that influence housing patterns. Housing structure very realistically reflects a social character and overall economic circumstances. Paradoxically, Belgrade had been created both – chaotically, and systematically at the same time, that is to say in concert with urban planning.The war destructions have also contributed to the current image of the city with an intensive influx of people into the capital before and after the WWII with an unsupervised and uncontrolled, unsystematic building, creating a large 'dormitory', that is New Belgrade, with an overgrowth of the surrounding planned and unplanned areas and satellites to boot. After this dynamic decades,Belgrade has gone through different spells of ups and downs in housing and construction in the last decade, but never as significant in scope and quality as in the eighties.However, the architecture and built housing projects and artefacts bear witness to a character and paradigm shift and ascertain a transformation in policies, concepts and comprehensive state of affairs in our society. This paper challenges the contemporary context of housing construction in Belgrade and searching for new qualities in housing organization principles and judging the achieved performance in explored case study.

2 The tradition of low cost housing in Belgrade

In the period on the Eve of the World War IIBelgrade begins with the first concepts on ideal of urban livingafter the times of Ottoman backwardness that could have been taken only from European models. At the beginning of 20th Century, several architects at the Belgrade Great School established first and technical standards in architecture through the subject “Making Plans for Houses and Settlements”.1Period immediately after the World War II was characterized by the fact that housing development and distribution was carried out by the society. Social housing was exclusively a community care.Worker’s housing with minimum standards became a symbol of social equalization.Without previous examples, the postwar architecture was forced to create new concepts of housing construction, which completely followed the given economic and social conditions of the new socialist state.2 The period of nineteen-sixties and seventies was marked as period of self-management socialism, with numerous competitions focused on the topic of multi-family housing, first of all for the needs of the Army.3 The architecture constructed in the New Belgrade area represented the spirit of international style which brought unification, globalization, gigantism of form, repetitiveness, and big series.4Once the realization of these facilities had been brought to an end (having lasted from the year 1972 to the year 1976), the housing construction in New Belgrade reached on average 40% of the overall housing construction on the territory of Belgrade.5

1Lojanica, V., Ristić, J., Međo, V. Multi-family housing architecture in Belgrade. Models and development. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Architecture and Design INTERCAD 2011. Vienna, 2011, pp.5-6. 2Благојевић, Љ. Стратегије модернизма у планирању и пројектовању урбане структуре и архитектуре Новог Београда: период концептуалне фазе од 1922. до 1962.године (Strategies of Modernism in the Planning and Construction of Urban Structure and Architecture of New Belgrade: period of conceptual phase since 1922. up to 1962). Београд:Архитектонски факултет, 2004, p. 93. 3 Housing blocks which the Army constructed for their needs in specified period between 1965. and 1973. year are: 33, 37, 38, 29, 22, 23, and partly blocks 9a-11c and 70 and 45. See Л. Јовановић-Ненадовић, Концепција пројектовања стамбених јединица у Новом Београду (The conception of the design of housing units in New Belgrade), p. 30. 4Lojanica; Ristić; Međo, Multi-family housing architecture in Belgrade. Models and development, pp.7-8. 5 Data from the Statistical Yearbook for the city of Belgrade in period between 1970-1980. 3

The architectural designs were dedicated to function and aspect of comfort, although unilaterally orientated apartments dominate, as well as dwellings organized in a hotel room/suit fashion, they are chiefly positioned and organized according to standards developed in the “Belgrade School of Housing”.6„The life in the apartment is organized in certain number of rooms which, functionally connected, determine the apartment space… This results partly from the living needs in the apartment and partly because economic reasons require the apartment size to be reduced to an extent which would, relative to the existing conditions, enable carry out social equalization.“7As Jovanović Nenadović writes this represents the concept of housing design that has a large level of use so becomes optimal for a wide range of family situations. It can be determined by a variety of activities through time with the aim of cost-effectiveness.8Vujović emphasizes the fact that the distribution of apartments in socialism was necessary for the social-ideological reproduction of the state’s and the party’s bureaucratic apparatuses, and that it represented a powerful factor of the apparatus’s loyalty to the regime.9For the new working class who were the foundation of the society, it was necessary to provide apartments in accordance with equal minimal standards of living.10

3 Current state of low cost housing in Belgrade

After the period of intensive residential construction during the 1970s, there was a long period of stagnation in all areas. Nowadays, the consequence of the transitional period resulted with decrease in the number and quality of buildings. Construction of apartments became a matter of market and economy, while the price became the only apartment valuation criteria. Once established as a symbol of equalization, apartment now became a synonym for social difference. Evident crisis in investment policy resulted with economic disbalance and space dehumanization. Thus there was no information on the quality of residential buildings and the residential construction in Serbia, so the whole field of housing was left without clear policy and model of development.11The new era is driven by the forces of the open market and economic values, witch resulted with the large number of illegal buildings at the best locations in Belgrade. The second decade of transition (began in 2000) offered a plethora of examples of unique residential areas in Belgrade that could clearly and poignantly illustrate the time, context and any special circumstances regarding the social and political situation in terms of new practices and phenomena in planning and urban design, transparency of information and the public in dialogue and decision-making, and the clarity of the domain of interest. Housing prices have long been at the same level, which is the lowest since the fall of price and the investment halt in Serbia in 2008. The price falls from 1.500 down to 1000 euro with free garage space in the Stepa Stepanović estate offers a clear image of the economic might of the state and individuals today.

4 Case Study of a Residential and Commercial Complex, Block 32a in Belgrade

The urbanistic setting and the architectural design of a residential and commercial complex between Gostivarska and Vojvode Stepe streets, Block 32a in Voždovac, Belgrade was financedby Belgrade Land Development Public Agency. Authors are architects Vladan Đokić and Zoran Lazović.

6Lazovic, Z., Djokic, V., Two Housing Models in Belgrade. International Conference and Exhibition, Strand: ON ARCHITECTURE - REWORKING THE CITY, THROUGH NEW ARCHITECTURE. Book of Abstracts & Exhibition Book. Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 2015, p. 34. 7Baylon,M.,Stanovanje. Tema 1: Organizacija stana, Beograd: Arhitektonski fakultet, 1979, p. 20 8Јовановић Ненадовић, Л.,Концепција пројектовања стамбених јединица у Новом Београду – анализа конкурсних решења у периоду 1966-1975. године, Београд: Архитектонски факултет, 2011, p. 82 9Вујовић, С.,Људи и градови (People and cities), Београд: Филозофски факултет, 1990, p. 96. 10Milojević, B., “Urban development and influential factors on urban form of towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period of socialism and transition: Case study of Banjaluka and Trebinje”, Facta universitatis - series:Architecture and Civil Engineering, 11(3),2013, p. 239. 11Lojanica; Ristić; Međo, Multi-family housing architecture in Belgrade. Models and development, pp.7-8. 4

4.1 The Model of Housing for Resettlement Programs

The Belgrade Land Development Public Agency is established by the Belgrade City Assembly as an enterprise with the specific tasks of interest for the City and public land development. The main activities of the Agency are: public land development, dealing with leasehold issues and construction of the capital facilities in the City of Belgrade.12 The responsibility of the agency is resettlement of the population whose apartments are on the subject locations are predestined for demolition.The Agency is obliged to offer in return purchase of a new apartment or monetary compensation.In order to optimize the process of resettlement, the Agency established the Department for the Construction of Apartments for Resettlement in 1995.The activity of the Department coveredthe acquisition of locations, preparation of technical documentation, construction of buildings and obtain occupancy permit.After construction, the jurisdiction of the process of managing the apartments got the Department for property-legal relations.Department for the Construction of Apartments for Resettlementactively worked for twenty years. In this period, it was built a total of 33 objects, or 1216 flats, or 72,730 square meters of housing space. All objects are finished and occupied. A residential and commercial complex between Gostivarska and Vojvode Stepe streets, Block 32a in Voždovac, Belgrade the last and largest facility built by the Department for the Construction of Apartments for Resettlement.

4.2 Residential and Commercial Complex, Block 32a in Belgrade

This residential and commercial complex is designed and developed on a slow-moving and very steep terrain on the “inner” plot between low-rise houses and backdrops of residential estate lots on the left side of the boulevard, whence the complex is simply - invisible. The complex, as a single entity, encompasses eight residential building units rising cascade-like over retail spaces on a ground floor and a common basement and cellar, with a garage on two levels, multiple use shelters, common and technical areas and residential pantry. Each housing unit consists of a cellar, basement, ground and six floors with overall gross built surface of 37.000 m2, on a 12,5 ha plot. The total tally of the apartments is 251 (20.000 m2), with 27 business outlets (1.250 m2) and 266 garage and parking spaces (7.000 m2). The Construction index is 1,67<3,00, and the level of the lot occupancy is 40,30%<60%. The location was an elangated and inaccessible hillside detached from any traffic infrastructure, situated between the rows of family houses and buildings in the hinterland of the boulevard, with a height difference spanning 5 to 15 metres. The residential estate had to be clustered in a particular part of the location, because the other part was simply useless. The apartments intended for resettlement, are organized as two bedroom or studio units mostly, with number of somewhat bigger flats. The garage – multiple use shelter – had to be in two levels, with an underground street, and the compound is in a continuous cascade fall below the total surface of the building in the length of about 165 metres. The residential buildings are cascaded together in a continuous growth, from the lowermost to the highest, from the first on the bottom of the site to the highest atop, with mutual ground floor level difference - from one to the other - of about half a storey. During the construction the hill towards the boulevard had been cut off, more than 400 huge reinforced concrete piles were driven into the ground, and a huge retaining wall (250 metres long and 10 metres high on average) was raised. Simple solid and angular volumes of the dominant white smoothen the entropy of thousands of bursting and incoherent shapes and colors widely present in the suburban architecture of Voždovac scattered across several surrounding hills, infinitely alternating in filmesque frames one after another along the meandering stream of peripheral "river", that is boulevard Vojvode Stepe. Pearly-white super block is broken into eight wedge volumes for good insulation and lateral airing.

12http://www.beoland.com/en/direkcija/o-nama.html (visited 15.04.2016.) 5

The authors have tried to form a public pedestrian promenade, which has been subsequently kept, albeit in its reduced form. It is a public gallery, a pedestrian overcrossing connecting the entrances of the upper six building units with business and commercial facilities further introducing landscaped mini-squares located between all units. In addition, it offers an exceptional view of old centre of Belgrade, reaching all the way to Western City Gate. It was supposed to be the most important place of public and social life in the estate, barring the open spaces in the street. Another uniqueness of this housing estate lies in the greenery of the large retaining wall. In order to compensate the lack of green in this part of the lot, the retaining wall should have been gilded with descending vertical gardens and greenery. After completion of the conceptual design the project was handed over to the project organization “Hidro-projekt”. During the development phase the authorial overseeing was not achieved, which consequently means that the project in some parts had not been thoroughly and adequately read so it came to different deviations in execution that are quite detrimental to its aesthetic consistency, especially on façades, but also in details and applied materials. Residential and Commercial Complex, Block 32a in Belgrade won the prize in the category of Urban Planning at XXXVI Salon of Architecture of The Museum of Applied Art, and was promoted as a successfully implemented model of low cost housing.

5 Conclusion

Today the largest part of the housing in Serbia is conditioned by the open market economy and made for society of consumerism. Available and decent locations are rarity in Belgrade nowadays, there are some here and there on the outskirts of Belgrade, and few in New Belgrade. Residential construction is highly fragmented and disintegrated. Instead of residential estates, in the absence of good locations, investors are increasingly turning to smaller buildings, interpolations and reconstructions. A few large procedures took place, where an investor mainly with the help of the state builds and offers the apartments on their own terms, in large numbers, covering the whole range of market demand. Those are semi-social semi-commercial hybrid estate Vojvode Stepe (4.600 units), smelly estates in Dr Ivana Ribara (50.000 m2, 700 units), the market flats of athletes' village Belville (120.000 m2, 1.850 units). Development of mechanisms for the housing of social category have great difficulties. There are no practical state initiatives and programs to support smaller initiatives. The current situation in which there is a multitude of smaller models and initiatives, but not the dominant one, represent potential for development and improvement of housing in Serbia. Case Study of Block 32a in Belgrade represents an individual initiative that attempt to set up a sustainable program of housing construction. Unfortunately, the initiative was canceled after one decade and failed to develop into a more complex model or program. Certainly its mechanism may be useful in analysis for development of some future models of low cost housing. Although there are initiatives for development of some new models housing in Serbia, it is necessary to continue the search for mechanisms for their adequate implementation. To quote Hercberger, "what we must look for, in place of prototypes which are collective interpretations of individual living patterns, are prototypes which make individual interpretations of the collective patterns possible."13

Acknowledgement This work is the result of research on the projects III43007 and TR 36034 financed by Serbian Ministry of Education and Science.

13Hertzberger, H.,Forum 2/1962. In: A. Lüchinger, Structuralism in Architecture and Urban Planning,Stuttgart: Karl Kramer, 1981, p. 55. 6

References Благојевић,Љ. Стратегије модернизма у планирању и пројектовању урбане структуре и архитектуре Новог Београда: период концептуалне фазе од 1922. до 1962.године (Strategies of Modernism in the Planning and Construction of Urban Structure and Architecture of New Belgrade: period of conceptual phase since 1922. up to 1962). Архитектонски факултет, Београд, 2004. Вујовић, С. Људи и градови (People and cities), Филозофски факултет, Београд.1990. Јовановић-Ненадовић, Л. Концепција пројектовања стамбених јединица у Новом Београду (The conception of the design of housing units in New Belgrade). Архитектонски факултет, Београд, 2011. Baylon, M. Stanovanje. Tema 1: Organizacija stana. Arhitektonski fakultet,Beograd, 1979. Hertzberger, H. Forum 2/1962. In: A. Lüchinger, Structuralism in Architecture and Urban Planning. Karl Kramer, Stuttgart, 1981. Lazovic, Z., Djokic, V., Two Housing Models in Belgrade. International Conference and Exhibition, Strand: ON ARCHITECTURE - REWORKING THE CITY, THROUGH NEWARCHITECTURE, 3-4 December 2015. Book of abstracts. Book of Abstracts & Exhibition Book. Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts,Belgrade, 2015.

Lojanica, V., Ristić, J., Međo, V. Multi-family housing architecture in Belgrade. Models and development. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Architecture and Design INTERCAD 2011. Vienna, 2011. Milojević,B. “Urban development and influential factors on urban form of towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina inthe period of socialism and transition: Case study of Banjaluka and Trebinje”, Facta universitatis - series:Architecture and Civil Engineering, 11(3),2013, pp. 237-249., DOI: 10.2298/FUACE1303237M The Statistical Yearbook for the city of Belgrade in period between 1970-1980.

Picture 2. New Belgrade blocks (Bežanijski Blokovi EDIT.jpg, From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bežanijski_Blokovi_EDIT.jpg)

Picture 3. Residential and commercial complex between Gostivarska street and boulevard Vojvode Stepe,

Block 32a in Voždovac, Belgrade. Authors: Vladan Đokić, Zoran Lazović. 2008-2015. Investor - Belgrade Land Development Public Agency.

Picture 4. Residential and commercial complex between Gostivarska street and boulevard Vojvode Stepe, Block 32a in Voždovac, Belgrade. Authors: Vladan Đokić, Zoran Lazović. 2008-2015. Investor - Belgrade Land Development Public Agency.

Picture 5. Residential and commercial complex between Gostivarska street and boulevard Vojvode Stepe, Block 32a in Voždovac, Belgrade. Authors: Vladan Đokić, Zoran Lazović. 2008-2015. Investor - Belgrade Land Development Public Agency.