Belgrade Fair complex: The collapse of Yugoslav purism
Abstract
In the wake of accelerated development in the vicinity of the Belgrade Fair and further plans for construction in this part of the city, the events that have unfolded during the past decade of Belgrade’s urban development have situated Belgrade Fair as a key topic in the spotlight of the Serbian urban planning community. The objective of this paper is, first and foremost, the formulation of a methodologically broader critical matrix regarding the formation of an approach to the future adoption of strategies for the urban renewal of the Belgrade Fair (Sajam) complex. This complex, in addition to basic research on its architectural and urban qualities, also includes numerous current and temporal aspects from which it is possible to draw conclusions about the issue at hand. These analyses of the architectural and urban value of the fair complex observe the key themes and concepts that define the Sajam’s spatial and developmental paradigm. They also accentuate current questions regarding the defragmentation of the heritage of modern architecture in architectural practice. Also highlighted, in addition to the architectural and urban planning composition of the first construction phase between 1953 and 1957, are the today less-known architectural and engineering aspects of the exhibition halls that lack heritage status, along with an exploration of the renewal or transformation of this space through an analysis of recent conceptual design proposals. This study, through synthesis, seeks to establish a comprehensive picture and the broader critical framework needed to pass judgement before the ideological and constructive breakdown of Belgrade’s exhibition complex as a paradigm of Yugoslav purism. The conclusions leave space for the appreciation of different approaches, opening up new questions that clearly require social consensus and which have not yet been answered in the public or professional space.
References
Bajford, J. (2011). Staro sajmište: mesto sećanja, zaborava i sporenja. Beograd: Beogradski centar za ljudska prava.
Baudrillard, J., Nouvel, J. (2008). Singularni objekti: arhitektura i filozofija. Zagreb: AGM.
B92 (2009). Zašto Sajam nije spomenik kulture? B92 [online]. https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2009&mm=02&dd=03&nav_id=342838 [Accessed: 3 Feb 2009].
Bill, M. (1952). Umetniški izraz konstrukcije, Arhitekt, No. 3, pp. 11–14.
Clowney, D. (2011). Definitions of art and fine art's historical origins, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 69, No. 3, pp. 309–320.
Conić, I. (2023). Od štamparije do kancelarije: Obnova BIGZ-a na 40.000 kvadrata u punom jeku. Gradnja [online]. https://www.gradnja.rs/bigz-marera-remorker-rekonstrukcija/ [Accessed: 6 Mar 2023].
Ćirić, K. (2011). Beogradski opus slovenačkog arhitekte Ludviga Tomorija, Nasleđe, No. 12, pp. 199–201 (in Serbian).
Denegri, J. (2016). “Decenijske izložbe” jugoslovenske umetnosti XX veka. In D. Sretenović, H. Nastasić, M. Maoduš, S. Reljić (Eds.), Prilozi za istoriju muzeja savremene umetnosti. Beograd: Muzej savremene umetnosti, pp. 159–160.
Dillinger, T. (2014). Steering Spatial Development in the Vienna Agglomeration, International Journal of Business and Technology, Vol. 3, No. 1, Art. 4, pp. 29–36.
Di Maggio, P. (1987). Classification in art, American sociological review, Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 440–455.
Dimitrijević-Marković, S. (2010). Učešće građana kao uspešan preduslov za zaštitu nasleđa, Nasleđe, No. 11, pp. 185–192 (in Serbian).
Đokić, V., Milojević, M., Milovanović, A. (2021). Enhancing of heritage awareness and sustainability of built environment in аrchitectural and urban design higher education: review of best practices. In R. Mrlješ (Ed.), Architectural heritage and urban planning: proceedings, XI Scientific and professional conference with international participation. Belgrade: Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute of Belgrade, pp. 20–30.
Gojkov, S. (2024). Propevala Hala 1: pod kupolom Beogradskog sajma prostor za koncerte. Gradnja [online]. https://www.gradnja.rs/beograd-operska-scena-beogradski-sajam-hala-1/ [Accessed: 2 Feb 2024].
Gojkov, S. (2021). Pobedničko rešenje: rekonstruisana ložionica kao sinergija starog i novog. Gradnja [online]. https://www.gradnja.rs/lozionica-beograd-prva-nagrada [Accessed: 18 Nov 2021].
Gradnja (2022). EXPO 2027: Novi beogradski sajam planiran kraj Nacionalnog stadiona. Gradnja [online]. https://www.gradnja.rs/prostorni-plan-expo-2027-sajam-nacionalni-stadion-surcin/ [Accessed: 21 Oct 2022].
Gresleri, G. (2021). Immagine e parola scritta. L’esprit nouveau 1920-1925, La costruzione del purism, LC. Revue de recherches sur Le Corbusier. No. 04, pp. 46–98.
Guedes, A. (2015). The paintings and sculptures of Le Corbusier, Massilia: anuario de estudios Lecorbusierianos, No. 2004, pp. 250–255.
Ignjatović, A. (2013a). Out of the Sands, to Span the Future: The Architectural Image of Yugoslav Socialism in Belgrade, Centropa, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 49–63.
Ignjatović, A. (2013b). Usavršena priroda: Beogradski sajam, Zbornik Matice srpske za likovne umetnosti (in Serbian), No. 41, pp. 181–203.
Ilić, B. (2013). Messekomplexe. Architektur als Ausdruck für den ökonomischen und politischen Aufstieg und Fall jugoslawischer Städte. Kakanien-revisited [online]. http://www.kakanien.ac.at/beitr/re_visions/BIlic1.pdf [Accessed: 6 Mar 2023].
Ilić, B. (2010). Uticaj svetskih izložbi na razvoj koncepta Beogradskog sajma 1952–1958. In V. Radonjanin, N. Kurtović Folić (Eds.), Zbornik radova sa II simpozijuma studenata doktorskih studija iz oblasti građevinarstva, arhitekture i zaštite životne sredine (PhIDAC 2010). Novi Sad: Fakultet tehničkih nauka, Departman za građevinarstvo, pp. 1–7.
Ivković, M. (1975). Osvrt na radove Milana Krstića iz oblasti krivih površinskih nosača, Izgradnja, No. 8, pp. 10–12.
Krstić, M. (1972). Tanke ljuske od armiranog betona, Izgradnja, No. 12, pp. 1–2.
Kušić, A., Djokić, V. (2021). The parallax landscape and its middle-class spatiality: the case of the Julino Brdo housing estate, Belgrade, Architectural Research Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 69–82. https://doi.org/10.1017/S135913552100004X
Lazarević, Đ. (1975). Delo Milana Krstića, Izgradnja, No. 8, pp. 3–6.
Lj. F. (2020). Leskovačka "Šajkača" postaje tržni centar od marta naredne godine. Južne vesti [online]. https://www.juznevesti.com/Drushtvo/Leskovacka-Sajkaca-postaje-trzni-centar-od-marta-naredne-godine.sr.html [Accessed: 19 June 2020].
Macura, V., Stojkov, B., Cvejić, J., Đorđević Ciganović, J., Mihaljević, V., Ferenčak, M., Kurtović Folić, N., Stojanović, B., Vuksanović Macura, Z., Milanović, D., Milašinović Marić, D. (2019). Urbanističke inovacije iz Generalnog plana 2003 - čuvanje identiteta Beograda, Arhitektura i urbanizam, Vol. 49, pp. 40–59. https://doi.org/10.5937/a-u0-23981
Mandić, S. (1954). Sajmište i sajam: elementi urbanističkog sklopa grada. In Beogradski sajam (in Serbian). Beograd: Beogradske novine, pp. 45–84.
Maruna, M., Teofilović, V., Milovanović Rodić, D. (2023). Transformacija institucionalne strukture urbanističkog planiranja u postsocijalističkoj tranziciji - primer Savskog keja na Novom Beogradu, Arhitektura i urbanizam, Vol. 57, pp. 5–16. https://doi.org/10.5937/a-u0-45379
Mihajlov, S. (2010). Fabrika hartije Milana Vape, Nasleđe (in Serbian), No. 11, pp. 73–80.
Mijic Architects (2009). New Fair Complex Belgrade. Mijic Architects [online]. http://www.mijicarchitects.com/exhibition-event/new-fair-complex-belgrade/ [Accessed: 11 Oct 2020].
Milojević, M., Maruna, M., Đorđević, A. (2019). Transition of collective land in modernistic residential settings in New Belgrade, Serbia, Land, Vol. 8, No. 11. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/11/174
Mišić, B. (2006). Beogradski sajam, Nasleđe (in Serbian), No. 7, pp. 127–149.
Moneo, R. (2018). Seeking the significance of today’s architecture, Log, No. 44, pp. 35–44.
Nenadović, A., Milošević, J. (2022). Creating Sustainable Buildings: Structural Design Based on the Criterion of Social Benefits for Building Users, Sustainability, Vol. 14, No. 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042133
Nicović, B. (2023). Osvanuo projekat na internetu: Kroji li već to Beograd na vodi planove za Sajam? N1 [online]. https://n1info.rs/biznis/projekat-kompleksa-na-mestu-sajma/ [Accessed: 12 Jul 2023].
Nikolić, V., Radović, Lj., Marković, B. (2015). Symmetry of ‘Twins’, Symmetry, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 164–181. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym7010164
One hundred years of significant building (1956). 6: Public Assembly, Architectural record, November 1956, Vol. 120, No. 5, pp. 197-200.
Pantović, M. (1957). Novo Beogradsko sajmište, Godišnjak Muzeja grada Beograda, No. IV, pp. 597–612.
Pereira, T. C. (2013). O método concreto de Max Bill conexões entre o racional e o intuitivo, Manuscrítica revista de crítica genética, No. 24, pp. 121–128.
Perspektivni petogodišnji plan investicija Ministarstva građevina FNRJ (1946). Beograd: Arhiv Jugoslavije, Fond ministarstva građevine FNRJ (fond 13, br. 133/1946).
Pickens, B. (1956). Proud architecture and the spirit of St. Louis, Architectural record, Vol. 119, No. 4, pp. 196–197.
Riegl, A. (2006). Moderni kult spomenika, njegova bit, njegov postanak. In M. Špikić (Ed.), Anatomija povijesnoga spomenika. Zagreb: Institut za povijest umjetnosti, pp. 349–412.
Sajam (2021). SANU: izložba posvećena fenomenu Beogradskog sajma u lokalnim i svetskim razmerama. Sajam [online]. https://sajam.rs/sanu-izlozba-posvecena-fenomenu-beogradskog-sajma-ulokalnim-i-svetskim-razmerama/# [Accessed 14 Nov 2022].
Službeni glasnik RS (br. 4/2009). Odluka o utvrđivanju kompleksa Beogradskog sajma u Beogradu za spomenik kulture (in Serbian). Belgrade: JP „Službeni glasnik”.
Službeni glasnik RS (br. 16/2009). Odluka o utvrđivanju hale 1 Beogradskog sajma za spomenik kulture (in Serbian). Belgrade: JP „Službeni glasnik”.
Stamatović Vučković, S. (2016). Urban Space: The Phenomena of Unfinished in the Cities of Montenegro. In A. Gralińska-Toborek, W. Kazimierska-Jerzyk (Eds.), Aesthetic Energy of the City. Experiencing Urban Art and Space. Łódź: Łódź University Press, pp. 55–63.
Stambolić, Lj. (2017). Mesto koje je video ceo svet 1937-1957-2017 (in Serbian). Beograd: Beogradski sajam.
Stojiljković, D., Ignjatović, A. (2019). Towards an authentic path: structuralism and architecture in socialist Yugoslavia, Journal of Architecture, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp. 853–876.
Šijaković, M., Perić, A. (2018). Redefinition of recycling design principles, Frontiers of Architectural Research, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 67–79.
Tang, G. (2015). An Overview of Historical and Contemporary Concrete Shells, Their Construction and Factors in Their General Disappearance, International Journal of Space Structures, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1260/0266-3511.30.1.1
Zeković, S., Perić, A., Hadžić, M. (2023). The financialization of “the urban” in the post-socialist Serbia: Evidence from the Belgrade Waterfront megaproject, Journal of Urban Affairs, AHEAD-OF-PRINT, pp. 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2023.2239962
Zeković, S., Vujošević, M., Maričić, T. (2015). Spatial regularization, planning instruments and urban land market in a post-socialist society: The case of Belgrade, Habitat International, Vol. 48, pp. 65–78.
Žeželj, B. (1956). Yugoslavia, Concrete and constructional engineering, No. 1, pp. 61–83.
