napisala fotografije photographs by Istorijski arhiv Beograda written by / Historical Archives of Belgrade (IAB) Borko Vukosav (BV) portret portrait Istorijski arhiv Beograda/ Historical Archives of Belgrade Snežana Ristić Brod na A Boat on obali the Bank

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arhitekt ¶ Politika, 1 January 1934, page 10: For erecting the new buil­ding ¶ Politika, 1. siječnja 1934., str. 10: Za podizanje nove zgrade in Belgrade, the huge cube-shaped communist construction architect of the National Printing Institution in Belgrade, the Ministry Državne štamparije u Beogradu, Ministarstvu prosvete pot­ ruined Belgrade! I would best like to demolish it. of Education requires a plot without any buildings in the area rebno je zemljište bez zgrada u reonu Savske padine počevši Illiricym: The BIGZ building was constructed before the war. At of the Sava banks, starting from Duke Mišić Street and inclu­ iz ulice Vojvode Mišića, dokle je postavljena kanalizacija, na the time, it was the most up-to-date printing plant in Europe. ding as far as the sewerage system in the following streets: ulicama: Miloša Velikog, Kralja Milana, Prizrenskom, Bran­ Belonging to the same period and movement were Air Force Mi­loš the Great Street, King Milan Street, Prizrenska Street, kovom, ulicom iz Brankove pored Saborne crkve do ulaska u House in Zemun, FIAT next to the Faculty of Veterinary Science Branko­va Street, as well as the the street that stretches from Donji grad. (ah, the potential that building has!), the Children’s Hospital Bran­kova Street, along the Saborna Church to the entrance of Ovo zemljište treba da ima 6.000 do 8.000 kvadratnih metara in Tiršova Street, etc. The only thing that is needed to be done the Lower Town. a pored njega treba da je sprovedena kanalizacija, i da je po there was to clean it up, replace a couple of windows, and place This plot has to have 6000 to 8000 square metres, there has mogućstvu na varoškom bloku ili bar na uglu dveju ulica. something meaningful for the 21st century inside. Otherwise, to be an operational sewerage system constructed next to it Ponude za ovo zemljište sa skicom i cenom kvadratnog metra­ it is perfect. and if possible, it has to be in a city block or at least at the treba podneti Opštem odeljenju Ministarstva prosvete u za­ corners of two streets. pečaćenom kovertu do 10. januara 1934. godine u 12 časova. ¶ The history of one of the anthological buildings of Belgrade Offers for this plot with a sketch and price per square metre Iz kancelarije Opšteg odeljenja Ministarstva prosvete) Modernism is told summarily in these texts. It was designed should be submitted to the Department of General Affairs at by Dragiša Brašovan who realized his great modernist trilogy the Ministry of Education in a sealed envelope by 12.00 am ¶ Ovih dana, na internetu: in the fourth decade of the twentieth century: Air Force House on 10 January 1934. Marseille: Meni je BIGZ-ova zgrada jedna od najružnijih u in Zemun (1935), the building of the Danube Banovina in Novi (From the Office of the Department of General Affairs, the Beogradu, ogromna kockasta komunistička gradnja je uništila Sad (1936–39), and the mentioned monumental building of Ministry of Education) Beograd! Najradije bih je srušio. the National Printing Institution (1933; 1937–40) – today Illiricym: BIGZ-ova zgrada je sagrađena pre rata. Za to vre­ known as ‘the BIGZ Building’. In the 1930s the Kingdom of ¶ Recently, on the Internet: me je bila najmodernija štamparija u Evropi. Istom periodu i Yugoslavia­ was building its prominent buildings and often in­ Marseille: In my opinion, the BIGZ [Belgrade Publishing and pokretu pripadaju i Dom vazduhoplovstva u Zemunu, FIAT kod vol­ved architects of modernist orientation. At that time, other

Dragiša Brašovan Graphics Institution] building is one of the ugliest buildings Veterinarskog fakulteta (ah, kakav potencijal ima ta zgrada...), architects of Belgrade Modernism had important realizations:

138 Beogradski izdavački grafički zavod, Beograd, The Publishing and Graphics Institution of Dragiša Brašovan, Beogradski izdavački grafički zavod Dragiša Brašovan, Belgrade Publishing and Graphics Institution 139 Srbija, 1933.; 1937.– 1940. Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia, 1933; 1937 – 40 stoljeća Kraljevina Jugoslavija gradila je svoje znamenite ‘The Exhibition of German Visual Arts’ was held in the Cvije­ građevine i često angažirala arhitekte modernog pravca. Važne ta Zuzorić Art Pavilion in 1931. It had a great influence on realizacije imali su tada i drugi arhitekti beogradske moderne: strengthening the movement of modernism in Serbia. Works Milan Zloković, Branislav Kojić, Momčilo Belobrk, Dušan by Walter Gropius, Erich Mendelsohn, Mies van der Rohe, Babić... Tada su izgrađeni: Pravni fakultet, Dermatološka, Dječja Otto Bartning, Peter Behrens and so on were displayed. i Gi­nekološko-akušerska klinika u Beogradu, Oceanografski The con­servative professional and cultural public was still institut­ u Splitu, Veterinarski i Tehnički fakulteti u Zagrebu, not ready to choose the new movements in architec­ture ‘Nebotičnik’i Moderna galerija u Ljubljani, poštanske zgrade u and arts and so the exhibition was not received with great Splitu, Bijeljini, Čačku, Titelu, stambene zgrade za službenike delight. Resistance made the breakthrough of contemporary poštanskih štedionica u Zagrebu i Ljubljani, palače pravde u archi­tectural and artistic ideas rather more difficult, but the velikim gradskim centrima, škole, sportski stadioni, privredne enthusiastic and determined architects of the modernist mo­ zgrade... U Beogradu su gostovale i neke važne inozemne ve­ment did not give up. Educated in large European cities, izložbe. Izložba njemačke likovne umjetnosti održana je they had already had sufficient experience in building and also 1931. u Umjetničkom paviljonu Cvijete Zuzorić. Imala je veliki found investors among industrialists on the rise, and even in utjecaj­ na jačanje modernog pokreta u Srbiji. Prikazana su governing structures. ¶ Dragiša Brašovan, an architect who djela Waltera Gropiusa, Ericha Mendelsohna, Miesa van der was also able to design in academic style, won the Yugoslav Rohea, Otta Bartninga, Petra Behrensa... Konzervativna struč­ architectural competition for the building of the National na i kulturna javnost još uvijek nije bila spremna opredijeliti Printing Institution in Belgrade in 1933. Drago Ibler was also se za nove pokrete u arhitekturi i umjetnosti, pa nije baš s one of the competitors, and second prize was won by the oduševljenjem primila tu izložbu. Otpori su poprilično ote­ Zagreb office Kiverov, Korka and Krekić. Subsequently, the žavali prodor suvremenih arhitektonskih i umjetničkih investor organized a study journey for Brašovan to technically ide­ja, ali poletni i odlučni arhitekti modernog pravca nisu and technologically highly developed Germany. In this manner, odusta­jali. Školovani u velikim europskim gradovima,­ imali he was able to be introduced directly to new tendencies in su već dovoljno graditeljskog iskustva, a stekli su i investi­ architecture and to see how the technologically most con­ tore­ među industrijalcima u usponu, čak i u vladajućim temporary printing plants and industrial buildings looked. strukturama.­ ¶ Dragiša Brašovan, arhitekt koji je znao pro­ He saw for himself that the exaggerated decorative quality of jektirati­ i u akademskom stilu, pobijedio je 1933. godine na façades had lost its importance and that the functionality of jugoslavenskom arhitektonskom natječaju za zgradu Državne a building was pushed to the fore. And this especially referred tiskare u Beogradu. U konkurenciji je bio i Drago Ibler, a drugu to industrial and housing buildings. ¶ Brašovan formed the nagradu dobio je zagrebački ured Kiverov, Korka i Krekić. Po­ building of the National Printing Institution as several strong, tom investitor organizira Brašovanu studijsko putovanje u horizontally set parallelepipeds, placed next to one vertical tada tehnički i tehnološki visoko razvijenu Njemačku. Tako parallelepiped. A fragile curvature around the staircase on the se mogao neposredno upoznati s novim tendencijama u arhi­ very top of the building as well as the elegant railing on the roof tekturi i vidjeti kako izgledaju tehnološki najsuvremenije tis­ terrace with, as they seem when observed from downstairs, kare i industrijski objekti. Uvjerio se da je pretjerana deko­ hovering candelabras are both discrete homage to Bauhaus. (iab) rativnost fasade izgubila na važnosti i da je funkcionalnost The roof terrace looks as if it belongs to quite another building; dečija bolnica u Tiršovoj, itd. Jedino što treba da joj se uradi Milan Zloković, Branislav Kojić, Momčilo Belobrk, Dušan zgrade došla u prvi plan. Posebno kod industrijskih i stambenih we could easily imagine it on a luxury hotel or as a deck on an je da se očisti, da se zameni par prozora, i da se unutra ubaci Babić... Built at that time were: the Faculty of Law; the Der­ zgrada. ¶ Brašovan je zgradu Državne tiskare formirao od ne­ ocean cruiser. Today, one can access it from an improvised jazz nešto smisleno za 21. vek. Inače je savršena. matology,­ Children’s and Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic­ koliko jakih horizontalno postavljenih kubusa uz jedan verti­ club and a wonderful view of the Sava and Belgrade stretches ¶ U ova dva-tri teksta sumarno je ispričana povijest jedne od in Belgrade; the Oceanographic Institute in Split; the Faculty­ kal­ni, a krhka oblina oko stubišta na samom vrhu zgrade from it. Brašovan solved the façade canvasses by means of antologijskih zgrada beogradske moderne. Projektirao ju je of Veterinary Science and the Technical Faculty in Zag­reb; diskretna je posveta Bauhausu, kao i elegantna ograda na different rhythms of glass surfaces and in this way he defined Dragiša Brašovan koji je u četvrtom desetljeću dvadesetog the ‘Skyscraper’ and Modern Gallery in Ljubljana; post office krov­noj terasi sa, odozdo nam se čini, lebdećim kandelabrima. various functions of the building in egalitarian manner. In one stoljeća realizirao svoju veliku modernističku trilogiju: Dom buildings in Split, Bijeljina, Čačak, Titel; housing buil­dings Krovna terasa kao da pripada nekoj sasvim drugoj zgradi; la­ of the horizontal parallelepipeds, one could see an indication zrakoplovstva u Zemunu (1935.), zgradu Dunavske banovine for officials of the Postal Savings Bank in Zagreb and Ljub­ ko bismo je mogli zamisliti na nekom luksuznom hotelu ili of the purified façades on his future hotel Metropol (1953). u Novom Sadu (1936. – 1939.) i spomenutu monumentalnu ljana; palaces of justice in large city centres, schools, sports kao palubu prekooceanskog broda. Danas se na nju izlazi iz ¶ The building of the National Printing Institution is the first zgradu Državne štamparije (1933.; 1937. – 1940.) – danas stadiums, industrial plants and office buildings... Also, so­ improviziranog jazz-kluba, a s nje se pruža prekrasan pogled building in Belgrade with a skeletal support system made poznatu kao ‘zgrada BIGZ-a’. Tih tridesetih godina prethodnog me important foreign exhibitions were held in Belgrade: na Savu i Beograd. Brašovan je fasadna platna riješio različitim of reinforced concrete. The complexity of the programme

140 oris, broj 73, godina 2012 oris, number 73, year 2012 Dragiša Brašovan, Beogradski izdavački grafički zavod Dragiša Brašovan, Belgrade Publishing and Graphics Institution 141 istočno pročelje presjek

east elevation section

nacrti pribavljeni ljubaznošću Aleksandre Banović plans provided by courtesy of Aleksandra Banović tlocrt prizemlja ritmovima staklenih površina i tako ravnopravno definirao enabled Brašovan to form the building’s floor plans and ground floor plan raznovrsne funkcije zgrade. U jednom od horizontalnih para­ façade canvasses freely in a much more radical manner that lelopipeda može se naslutiti pročišćena fasada njegovoga bu­ had been customary until that time. Although the skeletal dućeg hotela Metropol (1953.). ¶ Zgrada Državne štamparije system was used, the building does not hover; on the inside, it je prva beogradska kuća sa skeletnim armirano-betonskim looks much heavier that it seems on the outside. Some spaces nosivim sustavom. Kompliciranost programa omogućila je remind of ambience in Fritz Lang’s famous film Metropolis (iab)

142 oris, broj 73, godina 2012 oris, number 73, year 2012 Dragiša Brašovan, Beogradski izdavački grafički zavod Dragiša Brašovan, Belgrade Publishing and Graphics Institution 143 (BV)

Brašovanu da, mnogo radikalnije nego što je to tada bilo of 1928 – monumental stairs, lifts in metal cages, an endless uobičajeno,­ slobodnom osnovom formira zgradu i fasadna dimly lit labyrinth of corridors... ¶ By unfortunate historical platna.­ Iako je primijenjen skeletni sustav, zgrada ne lebdi; coincidence, the building of the National Printing Institution iznutra izgleda mnogo teže nego što se to čini izvana. Neki did not have time to entirely take root in the city tissue. As pros­tori podsjećaju na ambijente iz čuvenog filmaMetropolis soon as it was completed, the Second World War started for Fritza Langa iz 1928. godine – monumentalne stube, dizala u the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with the German bombing of April metalnim kavezima, beskrajni polumračni labirint hodnika... 1941. Photographs taken at the end of the war depict a rather ¶ Igrom nesretnih povijesnih okolnosti, zgrada Državne damaged building. In the heyday of post-war renovation, štampa­rije nije imala vremena da sasvim uraste u gradsko tkivo. it was repaired and functioned as the printing plant of the Tek što je završena, njemačkim bombardiranjem u travnju 1941. Belgrade Publishing and Graphics Institution (BIGZ) with za Kraljevinu­ Jugoslaviju počeo je Drugi svjetski rat. Fotografije almost 3000 employees. ¶ The printing plant was built in a snimljene na kraju rata prikazuju prilično oštećenu zgradu. U suburb of Belgrade, a city that between the two world wars naponu poslijeratne obnove popravljena je i funkcionirala je tried frenetically to catch up with large European cities and kao tiskara Beogradskoga izdavačkoga grafičkog zavoda BIGZ( ) to compensate for lost decades. At the beginning of the new s gotovo 3000 zaposlenih. ¶ Sagrađena u predgrađu Beograda millennium, it became part of the very centre of the city. In koji je između dva svjetska rata grozničavo pokušavao dostići the 1990s, when the socialist concept of huge nationalized velike europske gradove i nadoknaditi propuštena desetljeća, companies collapsed, the building was abandoned and left tiskara je na početku novog milenija postala dio užeg centra to ruin. During the last ten years, young artists, musicians, grada. Devedesetih godina prošlog stoljeća, propašću socija­ designers, architects etc. moved in. It functioned as an informal lističkog koncepta velikih društvenih poduzeća, zgrada je na­ cultural centre. The new owner, after unclear privatization, puštena i ostavljena da propada. Posljednjih desetak godina u has been offering the spaces for rent, but has not invested nju su se uselili mladi umjetnici, muzičari, dizajneri, arhitekti... in renovation at all. Nevertheless, it is impossible not to no­ Funkcionira kao neformalni kulturni centar. Novi vlasnik, na­ tice it if you travel on the motorway from west to east. On (BV)

144 oris, broj 73, godina 2012 oris, number 73, year 2012 Dragiša Brašovan, Beogradski izdavački grafički zavod Dragiša Brašovan, Belgrade Publishing and Graphics Institution 145 kon nejasne privatizacije, daje prostore u zakup, ali ništa ne the right side of the road, although neglected, it dominates ulaže u obnovu. Ipak, ne možete je ne primijetiti ako putujete that part of the city and attracts attention when you cross autocestom sa zapada prema jugu. S desne strane puta, iako the Sava over the recently renovated Gazelle bridge. It has zapuštena, dominira dijelom grada i privlači pogled dok se been announced that a luxury hotel will soon be built next prelazi Sava tek obnovljenim mostom Gazela. Pored nje će se, to it. ¶ In a country where everybody, from politicians to the najavljuju, uskoro graditi luksuzni hotel. ¶ U zemlji gdje se svi, heads of residents’ committees, is dealing with global politics od političara do predsjednika kućnih savjeta, bave globalnom and competing in patriotism, no one poses the question why politikom i natječu u patriotizmu, nitko ne postavlja pitanje one of the city’s most striking landmarks, a monument to zašto je jedan od najmarkantnijih gradskih repera, spomenik architectural heritage, a building that could even today be a graditeljske baštine, građevina koja bi i danas mogla biti repre­ ministry, luxury hotel or attractive cultural centre, has been zentativno ministarstvo, luksuzni hotel ili atraktivan kulturni left to ruin so mercilessly. But then why would it not be when centar, tako bezobzirno puštena da propada. A i zašto ne bi only a few streets away, on the most important junction in the kad se samo nekoliko ulica dalje, na najvažnijem gradskom city, opposite the neo-classicist palaces of the Government of raskrižju, preko puta neoklasicističkih palača Vlade Republike the Republic of Serbia, within the sight of all of us, one of the Srbije, naočigled svih nas urušava, prije 12 godina bombama most important buildings of post-war architecture which was teško oštećena, jedna od najznačajnijih zgrada poslijeratne heavily damaged by missiles 12 years ago – the General Staff arhitekture – Generalštab Nikole Dobrovića. Headquarters by Nikola Dobrović – is falling apart?

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146 oris, broj 73, godina 2012 oris, number 73, year 2012 (BV) Dragiša Brašovan, Beogradski izdavački grafički zavod Dragiša Brašovan, Belgrade Publishing and Graphics Institution 147