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 street and boulevard Vojvode Stepe, Block 32a in Voždovac, Belgrade. Authors: Vladan Đokić, Zoran Lazović. 2008-2015. Investor - Belgrade Land DevelopMent Public Agency. 1 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. 2 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 II Belgrade begins with the first concepts on ideal of urban living after 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”.1 Period 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.4 Once 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 1 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, pp.5-6. 2 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). 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. 4 Lojanica; 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.“7 As 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.8 Vujović 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.9 For 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.11 The 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 financed by Belgrade Land DevelopMent Public Agency. Authors are architects Vladan Đokić and Zoran Lazović. 6 Lazovic, Z., Djokic, V., Two Housing Models in Belgrade.