Yugoslavian Brutalist Monuments. How the future haunted the past.
Yugoslavian Brutalist Monuments are concrete relics of the Soviet era. The imagery is raw, concrete, easily recognizable.
Spomeniks are a specific type of Yugoslavian monuments, made mostly out of reinforced concrete. They have simple shapes and are mostly organised in basic compositions. They can be found on hilltops as solitary structures against the natural environment, acting as landmarks, visible from far away.
This article studies three Yugoslavian Brutalist Monuments. All of them are located in The Republic of Kosovo, a newly established Republic, in 2008. Kosovo is a unique country in a diverse region.
Introduction
In a past article I mentioned that so-called Brutalists did not know they were Brutalists at the time. That is the case of Yugoslavian Brutalist Monuments as well – the authors were not aware they were practicing Brutalism. They were simply doing their job designing sculptural elements that were quick and easy to build. The shapes and the material working together tell the stories of the past, stories meant to last forever. As a consequence, their physical representations, the memorials, last forever as well.
Former Yugoslavian countries still house these timeless, large scale monuments. Out of all, Kosovo is the newest and probably the most interesting to look at. It has always been an area inhabited by both Serbians and Albanians. These are two very distinctive cultures. One’s landlocked, the other is on the Mediterranean coast; one’s Christian, the other’s Muslim. One uses the Cyrillic alphabet, the other uses Latin letters.
We begin to notice how these two opposing cultures sort of tolerate each other in Kosovo.
How did we get here?
The whole region, from the Balkans all the way to the Mediterranean, is extremely diverse both culturally and ethnically. At the beginning of the 20th century, the kingdoms of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes unified under the name Yugoslavia. In 1946 they adopted socialism and became the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. That scale of unification would stand no chance. In 1991, the SFRY started dividing itself, as regions would benefit from newly established declarations of independence. The first newly established countries were Slovenia and Croatia, later on followed by Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and, ultimately, Kosovo.
What Are Yugoslavian Brutalist Monuments?
The main mission of architects, designers and sculptors was to instil a feeling of unity in an otherwise extremely divided society. Together, they were supposed to create what we would consider “relics”. These would be structures that tell a common story for multiple nations, symbols of unification. Through artist commissions, design competitions and long term collaboration with design universities, the government incentivised the creation of a new, Yugoslavian style. Nowadays an effort as large as this could only be compared to Mazzucato’s “Mission Economy”. You can find out more about Mission Economy in this article.
List of 3 Yugoslavian Brutalist Monuments
The structures were supposed to look timeless, almost like they’ve always been there. They were also supposed to become an instant landmark, hence to have both shape and size of lasting impression. Construction should be cheap and quick. The result would become instantly recognisable. They style would deliberately leave out any type of local, traditional decoration, however they themselves would end up becoming decoration itself, through design and symbolism.
Welcome to Postmodernism in Architecture. But for the Balkans.
1. National Library of Kosovo
Pristina, Kosovo
arch. Andrija Mutnjakovic
1981
The building consists of a series of clustered boxes, with 99 translucent acrylic domes acting as skylights. A heavy mesh of steel triangles wraps the facade. The massive concrete elements were poured on site, covered with locally sourced marble. Many design elements work together and participate in the final result. This is meant to remind us of the unification of several cultures under one federation.
The structure is home to, or better said “protects”, a collection of several other libraries, some even dating back to the 14th century.
The library is an example of Yugoslavian Postmodernism. The architectural design decisions can be considered brutalistic, as several elements are oversized in order to actively participate in the final design. This is probably why the building is considered a Yugoslavian Brutalist Monument.
2. The Palace of Youth and Sports
Pristina, Kosovo
arch. Živorad Jankovic
1974
The original name of the center was “Boro and Ramiz”. These are Serbian, respectively Albanian names. They are two Yugoslavian heroes that are said to have fought back Nazi occupation. The joining of the two names is meant to symbolize the unity of Serbians and Albanians in the Kosovan region, during the Second World War.
The center consists of several buildings: the indoor sports hall, the youth center, the shopping mall and the outdoor football field. The main building is a major urban landmark in Prishtina. It can be seen from several miles away, thanks to its very tall structural spine, a symmetry axis between the two slopes of the impressive roof. The structural elements are very large, completely outside of human proportion, and the horizontal succession of the vertical pillars, placed at relatively small distances from one another. However the roof itself resembles a traditional two sloped roof from a local home.
The Brutalist elements put together to assemble what appears to be a giant traditional home produce an interesting effect on the visitor. On one hand, you are overwhelmed by the size, the proportions and the repetition of structural elements. On the other, you feel welcomed underneath this house-like roof, like it is there to protect you.
3. Monument for The Heroic Miners
Mitrovica, Kosovo
arch. Bogdan Bogdanovic
1973
The Spomenik for Heroic Miners is a simple, 3 element composition. The two pillars represent the Serbians and Albanians working together against the Nazis. They hold up a horizontal element in the shape of a mine cart.
The monument’s simplicity in design and enormous scale make it timeless and intriguing, like it’s always been there, like it was built by superhuman forces. This is what makes it participate in the wide Yugoslavian narrative of unity among diverse cultures.
Conclusion
Over 90% of the population of Kosovo speaks Albanian. At the same time, Kosovo used to be a part of Serbia. There is no Kosovan language but there is, however, a juxtaposition between the two opposing cultures of Serbia and Albania. The two cultures don’t mix, but they coexist.
I remember talking to a half Serbian colleague born and raised in Germany. We were both working in Austria at the time. In the past, he’d worked in Germany and the Netherlands. He said that, to him, they were all the same. Same work environment, same infrastructure, same conversations with other expats. He admitted that, when he’d move from one place to another, he couldn’t even tell the difference.
Globalisation can be a great benefit to an underdeveloped country. It brings rigorous regulation and sometimes enforcement, it raises the social standards of the population, it allows participation in international markets. Globalisation standardises prices, equalises wages and raises standards of living for many countries.
Local culture, however, as small as it may be, can be a beautiful thing. Some traditional practices present in former Yugoslavia are up to 1000 years old. Their conservation is organic as individuals pass them down from generation to generation through stories, through families. Unification, lack of borders and standardised living conditions – these are all nice things. Locality, uniqueness and the copresence of several cultures, countries in themselves are also nice things.