Acta Polytechnica Vol. 48 No.

1/2008

REVIEW

Moderna arhitektura u hrvatskoj 1930–IH

Modern Architecture in Croatia 1930’s
by Darja Radović Mahečić

A. Bičík
Keywords: Croatian modern architecture, functionalism, functionalism in Croatia

In May 2007 Institut za povijest umjetnosti (The Institute

of Art History) in Zagreb released an academic publication
about the topography of modern architecture from the pe-
riod between the two World Wars on the territory of Croatia.
The book was produced by the Školska knjiga publishing
house, supported by the International Working Party for Docu-
mentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods
of the Modern Movement (DoCoMoMo), founded in 1988 in
Eindhoven. DoCoMoMo works on revitalizing and promot-
ing 20th century modernist art.
This book presents the results of a five – year project un-
der the direction of Darja Radović Mahečić from the Institute
for Art History in Zagreb. In the course of the project a na-
tional register of Croatian modern architecture from the pe-
riod between 1926 and 1940 was set up. The task was to inves-
tigate this period of Croatian architecture, when a national
identity was being created and many buildings and con-
ceptswere being developed under the influence of political
changes, comparable to events in the traditional European
architectural centres. The one hundred selected buildings
represent a broad spectrum of types: public spaces, offices,
residential and multifunctional buildings, rental villas and
family houses, schools, hospitals, hotels, churches and cha-
pels, exhibition pavilions and workers’ districts. Some show
close links with local tradition (e.g., the Institute for Biology
and Oceanography in Split, by Fabjan Kaliterna, 1930–1931)
mainly on the Croatian coastline. After Zagreb, the other cul-
tural centres were Split, also Rijeka and Zadar, which were un-
der Italian rule. Modern architecture also reached the islands
of Krk, Hvar, Koločep and Lopud, and also the architecturally Book jacket
preserved town of Dubrovnik (see City Café and cinema at the
Great Arsenal, by Mladen Kauzlarić and Stjepan Gomboš, or architects, time of creation and address), black-and-white,
1931 – 1933). illustrations (original and current photos, in some cases re-
The structure of the book is clear and well–arranged. productions of plans and sketches) and an index of sources.
After the introduction there are chapters on Croatian Modern The preconditions for inclusion in the catalogue were that the
Architecture in the 1930s and The Internationalization of Croatian source documentation had been well researched, the build-
Architectural Avant-Garde, followed by a Register of Modern Ar- ings were of highly architectural value, and above all, that
chitecture in Croatia, a bibliography, a typological index, and an their present condition and appearance reveals the original
index of localities and names. The core material is a catalogue architectural and urban concept.
of one hundred selected and in chronologically ordered ex- The third condition must have been complicated by the
amples of modern architecture in Croatia. Each building is fact that many examples have been damaged e.g., by removal
presented here with its main specifications (name, architect of the flat roof, a typical formal feature. Nevertheless, these

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Acta Polytechnica Vol. 48 No. 1/2008

later became a world-famous sculptor. Sixty students gradu-

ate from this school before it closed in 1942. In 1920 the
Croatian Society of Civic Engineers and Architects accepted
new rules for architectural competitions, including a commit-
ment to arrange competitions for every General Master Plan
(see international competitions for the General Master Plans
of Zagreb and Split, 1931–1936) and for every public build-
ing. This contributed to the diffusion of modern architecture
to distant regions. The existence of two architectural schools
competing with each other was good for the development of
Croatian modern architecture. One of the artists’ associations,
Zemlja, is introduced here. It was founded by the painter Krsto
Hegedušić in 1929, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb.
The architect Drago Ibler headed the association and was also
the author of its manifesto. The group wanted to promote art
that reflected the modern vital needs of Croatian society.
They put this into practice through public lectures, exhibi-
tions and cooperation with similar intellectual groups. Before
Ivan Zemljak:
Trešnjevka Municipal Primary School, Zagreb, 1930–1931
it was banned in 1935, the group held seven exhibitions with
permanent and guest members. Almost all architects had at-
buildings are on the list, because they are important for the
development of modern architecture in Croatia.
In the chapter Croatian Modern Architecture in the 1930s
(p. 16–32) the author talks about historical context of Croatia
and about the development of the Croatian school architec-
tural system. This opening chapter goes on to show interna-
tional and local architectural and urban design competitions,
the problem of artists’ associations and their programmes,
and contemporary evaluations of the new modern archi-
tecture. The question of urban planning is then analysed.
The towns encountered new problems, e.g., the rising of
population in the towns, and the design of large municipal
structures, rather than small flats. Next the book introduced
some revolutionary events in the field of architectural educa-
tional the foundation of two architectural schools. The author
describes the foundation of the Royal Technical College in
Zagreb in 1919. The establishment of this school had been
under preparation by the Croatian Society of Civic Engineers Marijan Haberle:
and Architects since 1898. Its first rector was Edo Šen (Schön) Church of Blessed Marko Křiževčanin, Zagreb, 1940
and the first graduate was Alfred Albini. The second school to
be founded was the Department of Architecture, in 1926, at tended Ibler’s course at the Academy.
the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, under the direction of The chapter on The Internationalization of Croatian Archi-
Drago Ibler. At that time the rector was Ivan Meštrović, who tectural Avant-Garde (p. 33–53) tells about the contacts of
Croatian architects with the association Congr s Internationaux
d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM) and important architects from a
number of European art centers (Vienna, Dresden, Frankfurt,
Berlin, Budapest and Prague). The author draws attention to
the reflections of Croatian modern architecture at interna-
tional exhibitions and in technical papers published inside
the Kingdom of Serbians, Croatians and Slovenes and else-
where in Europe. The main journals are Tehni ki list (pub-
lished in Zagreb), Arhitektura (founded in Ljubljana in 1931),
Gradevinski vjesnik (founded in Zagreb in 1932), the Ger-
man reviews Bauwelt and Monatshefte für Baukunst, the French
review L’Architecture d’aujourdhui. The book mentions promi-
nent architects who studied outside Yugoslavia, e.g. Prague-
students Nikola Dobrović, Marko Vidaković, Ivan Zemljak
and Zvonimir Kavurić, Vienna student Juraj Neidhardt and
Ernest Weissmann who worked with Le Corbusier. Le Cor-
Fabjan Kaliterna: busier helped him to become the first resident CIAM repre-
Institute for Biology and Oceanography, Split, 1930–1931 sentative of Yugoslavia. Many other architects returned to

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 Acta Polytechnica Vol. 48 No. 1/2008

Yugoslavia from major European studios led by Le Corbusier, facade bricks with details in concrete and flat roofs. The
Josef Hoffmann, Adolf Loos, Peter Behrens or Hans Poelzig. town housed 1818 people in 1936. In the midst of the public
Other architects took part in architectural competitions buildings there is a hostel for single workers with 200 beds, a
abroad, e. g., Juraj Neidhardt and Vladimir Potočnjak partici- primary school, a professional secondary school, a depart-
pated in the architectural competition for the workers’ district ment store, a restaurant, a cinema, a stadium and sports
in Zlín, Czech Republic in 1935, and Potočnjak was awarded airport. At the peak of its expansion in 1939, the factory em-
one of the prizes. ployed 6290 workers of whom 4650 lived in the town. After
The Register of Modern Architecture in Croatia (p. 58–467) 1945 the town was renamed to Borovo. The complex was
includes some important Czech architects and their works on damaged in Yugoslav army attacks in 1991. Restoration work
the territory of Croatia and also several of their Croatian col- has taken place since 1998, unfortunately without the value of
leagues who studied in Prague. We are introduced to theVilla the original structures.
Pfefferman (which now houses the embassy of the Czech Re- The book Moderna arhitektura u Hrvatskoj 1930 – ih informs
public) in Zagreb. This project from 1928 – 1929 was led by readers about the birth and development of Croatian modern
Marko Vidaković, who studied in Vienna and Prague, where architecture in the 1930s. Profiles of 100 buildings form the
he graduated in 1918. He and his schoolfellows Ivan Zemljak central material in this publication, the profiles are rich in
and Vladimir Šterk they are considered to be the architects iconic documentation and information about sources, and
who designed the first modern buildings in Zagreb. Czech these make it valuable not only for researchers but also for
architect Josef Kodl designed the municipal schools in Split practicing architects. The effort to promote the modern
1928–1930. The most important work alluding to Czech ar- architecture of this period through one hundred selected
chitecture is the Bataville satellite industrial town of the Bat’a houses is laudable. However, a book covering all the findings
shoe factory in the neighborhood of Vukovar, by architects of Darja Mahečić’s team and providing a compact insight into
František Lydie – Gahura (general master plan), Vladimír all structures includes in the national register of Croatian
Karfík and Antonín Vítek (architectural design of houses) modern architecture would be of even greater value.
1931–1938. The project included 13 six – storey indus-
trial blocks sized 80×20 m, according to the Bat’a’s Zlín
Hall no. 24, with the skeleton of reinforced concrete with Ing. arch. Aleš Bičík
6.15 m×6.15 m modules and large windows. The residential e–mail: a.bicik@post.cz
quarter built before 1936 was named after Jan Bat’a. The Department of Monuments Protection and Renovation
quarter contained 122 apartment buildings, located in the
park belt, with 421 dwelling units: 17 family houses for di- Czech Technical University in Prague
rectors and engineers, 8 two – apartment houses for top Faculty of Architecture
managers and 97 four-apartment buildings for workers. The Thákurova 7
houses were cubic in form and were made of unplastered 166 34 Prague 6, Czech Republic

© Czech Technical University Publishing House http://ctn.cvut.cz/ap/ 45