Žaklina Gligorijević, a renowned urban planner, shares with us her experiences of different roles an architect can play in his/her career. This is another in the series of texts within the project by CAB: Women in Architecture.

On Beginnings and Curiosity

Back in high school, I wanted to practice interior design; I had some practical skills and eventually decided to study architecture. Dealing with different aspects of urban space in urbanism courses of Belgrade Faculty of Architecture surprised me and made me curious about context, sociology, urban reconstruction and various and complex planning issues. I was lucky to get to work on real plans and projects at the very beginning of my career: in Faculty of Architecture, and planning institutions like CEP, Centre for Urban Development Planning or Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade. I could compare the advantages and differences of both planning in public and private sector and learn about different aspects of urbanism: creativity, public debates, legal demands or obstacles, field work, different cities, landscapes and cultures... Working also on competitions and architectural design projects, I had to accept the wonders of procedure and the necessity to compromise as a hard part of professional growing-up. It seems that each new project has spurred new ambition, and it has been the case still. Figure 1. ISOCARP Congress, Perm, Russia, 2012  I believe curiosity led me through different areas of architecture and urbanism, but the changing market conditions also forced us architects to master skills and knowledge of both disciplines. What kept me in this business was perseverance and faith that our professional engagement could improve the reality. As time passes, I have found out that patience and understanding of various interests or priorities of different stakeholders became crucial for the success of projects.

On Advices

Arm yourself with knowledge and patience, as challenging times are ahead for our profession: the world is accelerating, technology is advancing, all that you though you knew today, will be obsolete tomorrow. So be most patient in practice and hasty in constant pursuit for new knowledge and skills. The first advice, or at least the first that intrigued me for years, I got from my professor Ranko Radović at my final year of studies. He asked us what our passion in urbanism was. He argued that there would be no outstanding results without the passion involved. At that time, as a worried student, I mainly wondered what my obligations were – not my passions. It was years later, as I gathered some experience and professional self esteem, to undertake new projects with joy and found his message to be true: professional passion is a motor that constantly keeps one going farther and requires more and better achievements. Figure 2. Creative Barcelona in Belgrade The other challenge, if not advice, came from my professor Kayden, who was teaching relation of design, law, and policy on Harvard GSD. In a debate on beauty, quality design through rules, regulation and laws in urbanism, he opposed the thesis that the beauty of the architecture or design is (only) in the eye of the beholder, and gave an argument for professionals to appraise and value design; he stated that there must be a reason why so many generations have studied and graduated from the Graduate School of Design... Ten years later, I still miss this kind of theoretical challenges, in times when creating zoning or urban design rules in plans has been considered a routine, understood, especially by non-professionals as rigid and as an obstacle for development instead as the framework, the guideline for realization of quality architectural solutions. Regulation of urban space seems especially simple to other professions: three parameters, mathematical formulas, piece of cake. There are skills and knowledge needed to compose an efficient and quality urban plan, a higher degree of understanding and education, a value added to just architectural design.

On Career Traps

Like in other professions, it is important for an ambitious woman not to neglect other aspects of life, family, friends, hobbies and pleasures, as the price of dedicated professional success. To enjoy in your work is a must! Too many worries and efforts on things we cannot influence bring only wrinkles and enemies. Luckily, architectural education provides a spectrum of opportunities for creative and fulfilling jobs, so fatigue or monotony caused by modest achievements of your everyday work can be cured through participation in design competitions, studies or related artistic disciplines.

On Most Important Work

Authorship is less important in urban and strategic planning I think, than successful management or careful synthesis, especially for accomplishments in big, important, long projects. Female principle in complex projects is to manage and lead with restrained vanity and personal promotion, all in service of the task before you. Those are female qualities. It does not apply to academic work or competitions, as creativity within given limits and a personal attitude bring success and great personal fulfillment. For all my big projects it took a lot of patience, preparations, diplomacy, coordination with numerous authors, stakeholders, professionals, creative individuals, complicated procedures, short deadlines, limited resources and different, opposing interests. Some of those I completed myself, some were finalized by others, some as a result of great team work, some were signed by other authors or managers, but in all, with no exception, I invested personal and professional engagement, skills and experience gained in the various roles played: of a design engineer, urban planner, team leader, organizer or director. Figure 3. Perast Urban Project My serious professional challenges were plans for protected heritage areas, like the Urban Project for Perast (Kotor Municipality, Montenegro), or new generation strategic plans, like Master Plan for Kraljevo 2000, changes to the Belgrade Master Plan 2021/2, City of Belgrade Development Strategy, Belgrade High-rise Study and a set of spatial and urban plans for Belgrade in the last four years, etc. I am especially proud of ten years organization of the Komunikacije conference, where I met excellent people and gathered skills to participate or organize international conferences, events and seminars. Figure 4. Belgrade Master Plan 2021/2 The most challenging task, in terms of meeting my own professional principles and the expectations of investors was leadership of the team that worked on Changes to the Belgrade Master Plan and the organization and work on plans for Belgrade under the Law on Planning and Construction from 2009. The great achievement of the whole team of Belgrade Urban Planning Institute was the planning process for ten plans of general regulation of the building area of the city.

On Personal Development and Influences

Working experience in different environments, different cities and on different topics helps one understanding mechanisms of urban management and design. Individual architectural works participate in forming the quality of urban spaces, but it’s not guaranteed by the most beautiful and attractive buildings. It is interesting that subaltern architecture, complying with common regulation, created the quality of many favorable urban cores of European cities. Compared to my perception of architecture before, I now believe that understanding and creation of architecture in context has been one of the greatest challenges for our profession! Rich experience and different roles of an architect involved in planning processes enable better understanding of the so-called big picture, the overall process of urban genesis, from planning ideas, decision making and the overall feasibility for their implementation. Both successful and unsuccessful projects, accepted and rejected proposals, small and large projects and constant decision making that was changing my goals during the planning process, have been all the lessons for professional maturity. I have been lucky to meet and exchange thoughts with some of the greatest architectural names of today, city architects, leaders of greatest urban planning institutes worldwide, and professors from prestigious architecture and urban planning schools. Each of those encounters, their advices and comments, as well as every city I visited or learned about, influenced my choices and altered, calibrated my goals. I understand that many great ideas remain on paper and have not been not worth grieving for, but that doesn’t mean I gave up good ideas. I just try to set realistic, achievable goals, so I can reach them more often.

On the Role of Urban Planner and Other Roles

The mediation of different interests is the greatest challenge for an urban planner: to coordinate in the best possible way the interests of governments, investors, profession and citizens. The best way to understand different interests is to try yourself in as many roles, as I have, luckily, managed during my 25 years of practice. On master studies at great planning schools, like Harvard GSD, this changing roles is a part of learning process at courses on large, e.g. public-private projects. Negotiating and mediating skills are gained through teamwork, where each participant takes one of the roles: once you are a lawyer, next time the representative of the government, economist, architect, developer, urban planner, you protect the heritage, representing neighborhood, etc. This kind of education helps and eases the demanding communication needed in all urban plans. Figure 5. Exhibition of the European Prize for Urban Public Space 2008 To be successful in this role, one needs the knowledge, open-mindedness and the capacity to understand, consider and accept the arguments of all involved parties, to search for agreement, enable compromise or insist on an issue, all depending on the project and location. One of my most important criteria for advocacy and decision making is whether the projects are feasible for realization. Žaklina Gligorijević, M.Sc. is definitely a well-known name in Serbian urban planning. As an architect-planner or organizer-manager, she was directly involved in preparation of plans that shaped Belgrade and other cities the way they look, or might look today, or provided the framework for their development in the future. Her public appearances have been always noted, representing Belgrade Urban Planning Institute, or earlier Centre for Urban Development Planning, always underlining, besides direct involvement in practice, her experience gained through post-graduate studies in the United States.

We can not talk about the history and success of Energoprojekt without considering Milica Šterić, the founder and director for many years of its architectural and structural department. As part of the current project by CAB: Women in Architecture, architect Marija Pavlović introduces us to the fruitful career of  Milica Šterić and her importance in the Yugoslav architecture after the Second World War. It is less known that the principal architect of Energoprojekt, one of the biggest construction companies in Yugoslavia, at the time of its development and rise, as was stated in the monograph published in honor of 60 years of its existence, was  a woman. It is even less known that she designed some of the first power plants in Yugoslavia, so important for the development of industry in the years after the Second World War.  Of course she was not alone, she was a full equal member of engineering teams gathered around the common tasks of rebuilding the country, and she was, as well, assigned the project of Energoprojekt's first office building in Belgrade, on Zeleni Venac square. Figure 1. The first Energoprojekt office building in Brankova street Born in 1914 in Smederevo, Serbia, and after completing her high school there, Milica came to Belgrade to study architecture at the Technical faculty. She redirected her talent for drawing and painting towards architecture after she was first introduced to the profession by her brother-in-law Božidar Trifunović. She graduated in architecture in 1937, and under the influence of professors Milan Zloković, Bogdan Nestorović and particularly Aleksandar Deroko, she started designing primarily mimicking the national style. However, Milica Šterić left her true and mature mark on architecture following the ideas of CIAM and the socialist spirit, which however didn't let her engage the social-realist style. Instead, her role in the building of a new, socialist society and the original Yugoslav model of self-management socialism, she found in the first years of the renewal, working on the projects for the country's rebuilding. Putting her carrier into action for the common good, in 1947 she starts working in the company Elektroistok, a predecessor of Energoprojekt, and in the following decade she commits to the industrial and infrastructural architecture and construction and designs power plants. Figure 2. The construction of thermal power plant Mali Kostolac after the war Already in the first years after the Second World War, decisions were made on founding power companies of general public importance, thus creating a path towards the construction of power plants throughout Yugoslavia, without which the industrial development of the country would be impossible. Immediately after the liberation plans were made for new power facilities. As the Germans left behind an unfinished power plant in Kostolac, a decision is made to repair the old thermal power plant in Belgrade and move it to Kostolac. This was the creation of power plant Mali Kostolac already in 1948,  for which Milica Šterić developed the architectural and structural design. Other facilities followed, particularly after the founding of company Hidro-Termo Elektroprojekt in 1951, later renamed Energoprojekt. The oldest and today still active thermal power plant Kolubara A in Veliki Crljeni, next to the coal seam of the same name, was built in 1956 as the biggest Serbian power facility, and the design is signed by Milica Šterić and Božidar Petrović. At the same time Milica designs also thermal power plants Kakanj in Bosnia and Herzegovina, southeast of Zenica and Velenje in Slovenia, as well as the unfinished thermal power plant Lukavac in Bosnia and Herzegovina, near Tuzla. In 1957 she goes to Netherlands thanks to the half-year stipend from the Dutch government, where she works in the office of Van den Broek and Bakema and improves her architectural expression on the heritage of Bauhaus. Pure structural forms and combination of steel and glass facade will remain a permanent element of her work, visible on buildings such as the office building in 2 Carice Milice street in Belgrade from 1957, as well as the building of social insurance in Smederevo, which she designed in 1958 together with Božidar Petrović. Figure 3. Office building in Carice Milice street The building in 2 Carice Milice street in Belgrade is under protection today since it represents a beautiful example of Modernism, with strips of windows that emphasize the horizontals and a simple facade which follows the logic of designing from inside towards outside. Functionally, this building still serves as office space for the Electric Power Industry of Serbia. Regardless of the building's height, architect Šterić utilized all the benefits of this location to open up the building and allow views towards the city. Its bevelled corner toward the intersection with Brankova street opens up to the Sava waterfront. The column and beam structure system in a double corridor organization stretches alongside the street to its corner and ends with a bevelled edge with  a wide angle toward Brankova street, where Šterić will design the awarded headquarters of Energoprojekt 3 years later, thus completing her urban design of this city corner. The first Energoprojekt office building was finished in 1960 and represents Milica Šterić's most successful realized design, for which she was awarded in 1961 by the country's top officials, and which is also today under protection. Unfortunately, the building is today practically abandoned, since her reconstruction and adaptation have been postponed for an undefined period for financial and structural reasons. It's standing there, completely stripped, with its structure exposed, waiting to regain it's face and life. Figure 4. Office building in Brankova street In the vicinity of this successful building is another, not less significant office building, designed by Šterić – at the corner in 25 Brankova street, just in front of the bridge, which is today the headquarters of the Sebian Business Registers Agency. Those years Šterić also designed a residential building in Alekse Nenadovića street in Belgrade, and continued to work in Energoprojekt on residential projects for Smederevo in 1965, then an entire residential complex from 1975 to 1985, then projects in Bor, Bijeljina, Kladovo, Herceg Novi. In her hometown Smederevu she also designed several public buildings – Department store in 1971 together with Aleksandar Keković, Children's facility in 1978-80 and the Cultural center in 1978-90. Figure 5. Cultural center in Smederevo As lead architect and later the director of the sector for Architecture and Urbanism in Energoprojekt at the time of its building an international reputation, Milica Šterić participated in numerous international competitions and worked on projects such as The complex of ministry buildings in Kano, Nigeria together with Zoran Bojović 1970-72, then the Bedouin settlement in Kuwait with 5000 houses together with D.Bakić and Z. Jovanović in 1971-74, the Military settlement Chimpata in Zambia in 1970 and others. Regarding the exhibition Three Pillars: Zoran Bojović by the Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, the architect Zoran Bojović in conversation with the curators Andrej Dolinka, Katarina Krstić and Dubravka Sekulić remembers his cooperation with Milica Šterić: Milica Šterić was really an outstanding figure and architect. Milica was full of energy, she was tremendously ambitious and persuasive. She had a way of putting a spell on you, of introducing you to the project, of guiding you. We worked together. Although I was still a begginer, she gave me a free hand. She was a source of inspiration.No small part in architecture’s breakthrough within Energoprojekt belongs to her. She even established the Sector of Architecture and Construction. It was thanks to her that we achieved big promotion in the foreign market, she was the one who got it all started. She saw architecture as something special. Once, when asked to give her definition of architecture, she even went on to state: Comrades, the architecture, that is the avantgarde! And she behaved accordingly. She was unique, and afterwards we never had a director like her. Figure 6. The complex of ministry buildings in Kano, Nigeria with Z.Bojović In the same interview, Zoran Bojović tells a amusing anecdote from their joint work on the project for the Complex of ministry buildings in Kano, Nigeria: When we finished the design for the Kano State ministries, we organised small exhibition at the governor’s mud palace that we admired so much, to present our project. As we made the preparations for the exhibition, pasting the ozalid prints up on the walls, Madame was terribly excited. She didn’t speak any English and so she memorised by heart the text that was to explain the exhibition to the governor. She was going from one drawing to another rehearsing her speech aloud. There happened to be some policeman snooping around. Suddenly, as we have finished pasting, Madame says: Well, now, where is that governor? Will he come already? To which the policeman replies: I am the governor. The project is adopted. It got her stupefied: But I didn’t say anything yet! He: On the contrary, Madame, you said all there is to say. Figure 7. Competition entry for Slavija square with D. Jovanović and M. Milovanović In local competition, maybe the most interesting is her work with Dragan Jovanović and Momčilo Milovanović at the competition for the architectural and urban design of the Slavija square in 1978. Another one of her works in the heating plant in New Belgrade from 1965, damaged in the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. Milica Šterić is a laureate of the Grand Prix in Architecture in 1984, awarded by the the Union of Architects of Serbia, and is the only female architect to whom this institution devoted a special publication (1991). She passed on Christmas Day 1998 in Belgrade. Special thanks to Dubravka Sekulić for providing us with the material taken from the interview Everything is Architecture! which was prepared as part of the exhibition Three Pillars: Zoran Bojović by Andrej Dolinka, Katarina Krstić and Dubravka Sekulić. The book with the same title, containing the entire interview, will be available by the end of this year. The author of the text is Marija Maša Pavlović, an architect, graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade. At the Faculty of Political Sciences she enrolled into Masters, and then PhD studies in Culture and Media, where she connected her interest in understanding social and political ideas and movements with architecture and urban development. On the other hand, her pragmatic approach and the reality of our architectural environment lead her through design, from real-estate entrepreneurship, to the cruel numbers of foreign investors. Going through the social reality of Serbia and Belgrade, she tried herself out in media by working in public relations for the biggest company in the country, but also learned about the planning and management of energy systems. She doesn’t consider architecture without sound and music to be architecture.

Jelenа Atаnаcković Jeličić, PhD, the first graduated architect from the Faculty of technical sciences in Novi Sad, and today a teacher there herself, as part of the current project by CAB: Women in Architecture, speaks about Novi Sad school of architecture, her work with students and the architecture today.

On Design

Predominantly I work as an architectural designer, although I believe that projects are mostly defined in their relation to space rather than scale. The most challenging are the projects you do for the people from you immediate surroundings, where the boundary between private and professional is blurred.

Figure 1 i 2. Central building of University of Novi Sad

On The Female Approach

I don’t believe in the distinction between female and male authors, I believe in the distinction between good and bad architecture. In all projects I have done so far, I was always a member of a team of authors, and the belonging to this team is what makes me proud. It would be good to avoid the trap in which your surroundings look at you as a women architect and achieve that they look at you just as an architect.

On Influences

I believe that the longer you work in any field and the more you learn, the more you are aware of your own ignorance. In the past few years I’m mostly interested in the relationship between the achievements of social and human sciences and architecture. In those terms, some of the influences would be Jean Baudrillard, Jules Deleuze, Peter Sloterdijk and many others. Figure 3. Agricultural school with boarding in Futog

On Teaching

Working with students is my principal choice and concern, and everything else I do is directly linked to it. This means that I consider working in academia as the highest possible responsibility, which is then reflected on all other aspects of my professional life.

On Advice

The best advice I was given was to persist in my beliefs. I believe that it’s hard to advise younger colleagues without sounding pathetic or pretentious. I try to advise them more on specific dilemmas concerning their drawings and other projects, and less about life decisions.

Figure 4. Competition entry for the Vojvodina Contemporary art Museum 

On Architecture Today

I’m afraid that architecture (and when I say architecture, I absolutely mean also urban design and interior design) in our culture takes the place of minimal importance and I believe this thesis is something many colleagues come across in their every day professional life. Although for so many other professions it is unthinkable to have some without professional qualifications do the actual work, in the case of architecture we are often faced with the situation where owners are designing themselves, and then realizing their own ideas. This regularly results in buildings or even entire urban fragments where, because of undistinguishable and/or uncoordinated functions, meanings or aesthetics, the syntax of space is imbalanced, unclear or trivial. On the other hand, the discussion about architectural or urban ideas and works in the public is very often reduced to the conclusion that someone “likes” or “dislikes” something, while the public has very little information what are the achievements of contemporary designs practices on a global level. Unfortunately, it seems that in our society architecture does not represent a sufficiently interesting topic for the majority of media. What I mean to say is that the struggle for the recognition of our profession as a key element of a people’s culture is a long and painful process and the moments in which it is possible to apply some of the knowledge are rare. Figure 5. Housing in Novi Sad

On Novi Sad School of Architecture

In the spirit of everything previously said, even forming a new academic institution that will deal with questions of spatial organization is a difficult job. We are grateful to Professor Ranko Radović for establishing the foundations of what is today called the Department of architecture and urbanism of the Faculty of technical sciences in Novi Sad. However, we are ourselves confronted daily with the challenges of improving teaching, conditions for study, fields contained in the study programs and attempts to, through graduating students, raise the level of architectural practice in Serbia. Jelenа Atаnаcković Jeličić, PhD, is the first graduated engineer in architecture from the Faculty of technical sciences in Novi Sad, where she also obtained her Master and PhD degrees. As a teacher at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, she leads a number of courses in undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies. Since 2011 she’s head of the Group for architectural/urban planning, design and theory at the Department of architecture and urbanism of the Faculty of Technical Sciences. She was awarded in international competition, as well acted in juries for international architectural and urban design competitions. With a group of authors Kabinet 505 she’s successfully realized a number of projects. She is an active initiator, organizer and participant in scientific research conferences, projects and publications of international, regional, national and local character.

One of the most successful Serbian architects of the younger generation, Grozdana Šišović from the architectural studio re:act, as part of the current project by CAB: Women in Architecture speaks about the female contribution to teamwork and dedication necessary to achieve success.  

On Teamwork

Our architectural studio Re:act is a partnership between architect Dejan Milanović and myself. Team work has marked my architectural practice, from its very beginning, since our student days. As a team of authors we always strove to work a lot, to be hyper-active even when there were no commissions – that approach lead us to competitions, which we did in abundance. When you look at it all together, now there is quite a lot of projects behind us. The most important are surely the built works, but there are also several other project we are very satisfied with. I’m not sure in which way the female contribution is visible in this architecture. I think that in a project and building surely the quality of the process behind it must show. In our case, it’s a dynamic and dedicated partnership work, and often a collective work with our associates. Figure 1. Housing building in Block 61, New Belgrade

On beginnings

I didn’t chose architecture early. As a child I thought I’ll be a scientist when I grow up. In school everything was easy and I couldn’t decide in which field I felt most at ease. I finished the Mathematical High School where there was no teaching of art or any artistic subject, but already half way through high school I wished to remove myself from mathematics. I was interested in everything. First I tried out at the entry exam for film directing, after third year in high school because I couldn’t wait to enter a new, creative world. Next year I enrolled in Architecture and felt rather disappointed. After the  first year of studies I wasn’t sure that’s where I wanted to be and enrolled in Philosophy instead. I was very close to dropping-out of Architecture Faculty altogether. It was at the end of the second year, when I understood design as a worthy and provocative challenge, and after one workshop at the summer school of architecture in Petnica, which the Faculty was then organizing, I found a new spark, finally something clicked, I started to slowly understand thing and think about architecture in a good way. That was the anchor that kept me there – the secret and beauty of architecture, new horizons in each new topic, the closeness of life and art. Figure 2. Competition entry for Housing Rasadnik in Lazarevac  - first prize

On Approach to work

Personally, I have a strong desire to understand things. I have accepted my engagement in architecture as process of permanent learning. I believe there is hope for progress as long as there is enthusiasm. It simultaneously encourages me to accept change and engage myself in various ways. The last few years, other the architectural design, I also do research and teach. Enthusiasm helps distribute the energy in a healthy way and gradually reach a form of knowledge synthesis. On the other hand, it’s a slow and long process. My personal feeling tells me I’ve only just scratched the surface, that the knowledge is frail and must always be questioned. Figure 3. Neckom office and showroom in Nikšić, Montenegro

On The female approach

If there is such a thing as the female approach, I do not believe it should be mandatory or exclusively connected to the work of women, but rather that it should be understood as a metaphor for each approach that opposes authority in architecture, favoring architecture as a means of representation and reproduction of the system of domination. I can not say that I consider my work to be a specifically female contribution, either during the design process or in relation to its result. I believe that the dynamics of working together, building a partnership, as well as the openness to discuss ideas and develop concepts together, have more significantly influenced our design. But surely there is an influence of the female perspective, maybe as a fine difference in an intimate understanding of the topic, above all. I believe that women usually have a specific relationship of worry towards certain things in the project – in my case, I notice a lot of concern about safety, comfort of use and durability of the solutions we propose. I think that, generally speaking, women’s work in architecture has the potential to bring design closer to the user. The question remains whether that is always the case. Dejan and me have been working together for so long and are so used to this male-female team dynamics, that I’m not sure if from the inside I can see my share of the work as some kind of typically female contribution – I’m more likely to believe that the real contribution comes from mixing and combining perspectives, through now often a silent agreement. We have started thinking alike a long time ago. Figure 4. Terazije terrace park - development of the awarded competition design

On Role-models

While we were students, my colleagues and I were very influenced by the works of Mies and Le Corbusier, and also we looked up most to Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron - during the decade of the 90ies . We strongly influenced each other as well – we infected each other with architecture. Among women architects, I love the work of Lina Bo Bardi. Today I follow the work and careers of many different authors. Among the women, I especially like the Japanese – Sejima-san and Kumiko Inui.

On Advice

It is especially difficult to give any career advice in Serbia, where planning ahead is a challenging task. Seems to me the hardest thing is to find time for everything you want to achieve and persevere in your ambitions. For real success, not media success where you are famous and exposed, but the success in the quality of architecture, it is necessary to be sincerely interested in architecture and very dedicated. For women specially, it is important to believe in their capabilities. I think men less often have self confidence issues, simply because they usually get more supports, encouragement and approval both from society and their families. Be persistent and dedicated. Do not stop believing in yourself and always keep learning. Figure 5. Terazije terrace park - development of the awarded competition design

On Architectural practice

In practice, architecture is extremely competitive. It’s like that in school too, with the difference that in real life this game is influenced by some other factors as well, not just your talent and dedication. To become an extinguished author you must have presentable work, i.e. a chance to build. Building a career as an independent architect is not easy for men either, and it’s even more difficult for women to impose themselves as authors and designers in a system where there are not many women neither in politics or important leadership positions, everywhere where there are mechanisms of power an decision making. Although the competences and responsibility of female experts are generally accepted, I don’t believe the society acknowledges in the appropriate manner the female creative authority. The only democratic procedure that benefits women in architecture is the public open architectural competition. The career in architecture is permanently built throughout ones entire life and demands outstanding commitment, much more than other professions. Women with families usually have much less time to build a career then man, and this is another, but not less important reason that the number of recognized female authors is not bigger. Grozdana Šišović  established Studio re:a.c.t 10 years ago with Dejan Milanović,  her professional and life partner. They received a large number of professional medals and awards in local and international architectural competitions, including first prizes at the competitions for Slavija square in 2004, Terazije terrace in 2007 and Housing in Lazarevac 2012. They have, as well, several built projects. Their work is regularly featured in architectural magazines and publications in Serbia and abroad.   Besides architectural design, Grozdana Šišović is also engaged in research and works as a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade, where she’s finishing her PhD studies.

The author of several monumental buildings that still stand in the heart of Belgrade, Milica Krstić Čolak Antić has broken all prejudice on women in architecture by her professional and personal example.

Milica Krstić (maiden name Milica Čolak Antić) is one of important representatives of the architectural profession in Serbia between the two wars. As an author whose work has marked the architectural and urban image of Belgrade, and as a tireless advocate of her profession, Milica Krstić is considered one of the most important woman architect of the first half of the 20^th century, who left a visible trace in the development of contemporary Serbian architecture.

She was born on September 9^th 1887 in Kragujevac, as the granddaughter of Duke Čolak-Anta Simeonović. After graduating from the Girls High School in Belgrade in 1906, she enrolls in architecture studies at the Architecture department of the Technical faculty of the University of Belgrade, from where she graduated in 1910. During her studies she met her husband Žarko Krstić, also an architect.

The carrier of Milica Krstić is an interesting example of advancement and a career in civil service. In 1915 Milica Krstić begins her employment at the Architectural department of the Ministry of Construction, on complex tasks of design and construction, which she will do until her retirement in November 22^nd  1941. The Architectural department of the Ministry of Construction was at the time the most important and the largest architectural office in the country, where her colleagues were Momir Korunović, Pavle Ilkić, Nikolaj Krasnov, Vasilij Androsov, Branislav Kojić and others. During her career Milica Krstić advanced in service a total of 19 times, moving up from an subarchitect to architect, consultant, senior consultant and finally inspector.

Elementary school in Gornji Matejevac

Work at the Ministry has a great impact on her creative path, as well as limited it with the requirements and restraints of the civil service. Like other women in architecture at that time, Milica Krstić was assigned to projects of school buildings that marked her creative opus. She designed various school buildings, from small village and town schools around Serbia to monumental high-school buildings in Belgrade. In the period from 1923 to 1929 she developed a series of designs for high-schools in Serbia, mostly in the style and spirit of local building traditions.

Elementary school in Godačica

Although she started her career designing village schools, advancement in service resulted in assignments to more complex tasks. Milica Krstić designed monumental buildings as well, and the first such building was the Command of Gendarmerie from 1931 in 14 St. Sava street in Belgrade, today the building of Komercijalna Bank. As an example of academism in architecture, in accordance with its purpose and client, this building showed Milica’s dedication to functionalist approach to design. The complex program was skillfully divided into 2 buildings – the courtyard building, simple in its appearance and intended to house auxiliary facilities, and the Command building whose academic symmetry allowed a functional distribution of space, in line with its program. The front facade is also treated in accordance with the building’s purpose, and the massive stone decorations clearly represent the power and stability of the institution that was the Gendarmerie of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Elevation drawing of the Gendarmerie building in St. Sava Street

Two monumental school buildings in the very heart of Belgrade were the highlight of her career. These two houses, which still stand today and equally successfully serve their purpose, are The Second Girls High School from 1932, today Electro-technical high school Nikola Tesla in 31 Queen Natalia Street, and The First Boys High School from 1936 in 65 Dušanova Street.

The Second Girls High School in Belgrade was constructed in 1933, in place of the Girls College and the building of the State Council, in Queen Natalia Street (after the Second World War it was renamed to Narodnog fronta Street). Milica Krstić has herself attended this high school. The construction took only 8 months, from April to November 1933.

The Second Girls High School, today Electro-technical high school Nikola Tesla 

The building has a total surface area of approximately 3,000 sq. m, with basement, ground floor and three levels with around 250 classrooms. The basement housed apartments for the help, storage and technical spaces. On the ground floor, besides offices and cabinets, there was a gymnasium with a changing room equipped with showers, a cafe, the school infirmary and other auxiliary programs. The classrooms are located on the upper floors, and each has an adjoining wardrobe.

One wing of this monumental edifice also housed a small chapel, in memory of the St. Natalia’s church that once stood in this place. The chapel is located on the second floor , next to the auditorium with galleries. The iconostasis for the chapel was painted by Vasa Pomorišac, and the large fresco which was above the iconostasis was the work of Milo Milunović.

Courtyard of The Second Girls High School, today Electro-technical high school Nikola Tesla 

The facade is characterized by a simple and modernized Serbian-Byzantine style. The damages which occurred to it during the war from bullets and shrapnel shells are still visible. The school also has a spacious yard, located in the center of the urban block. Over 5,000 sq. m of open space was intended for the play of students, with two large terraces with stucco balustrades overlooking the yard.

Interior of The Second Girls High School

The school’s interior is spacious and light, and the large and well equipped classrooms and cabinets, drawing hall, gymnasium and auditorium, all made this building the most contemporary and the most representative school building in Belgrade at the time. For its architectural, cultural and historic value, the building of the Electro-technical high school Nikola Tesla has been declared a cultural heritage in 1964.

The construction of the new building for The First Boys High School, which previously changes several locations, was started in 1936, after the Municipality of Belgrade donated a plot for the school next to the church of St. Alexander Nevski. In April 1938 the school moved to the edifice constructed by the design of Milica Krstić, in which it still remains.

Building of The First Belgrade High School 

The corner building is significantly different from the monumental Serbian-Byzantine Second Girls High School. Because of the small surface area of the plot, the school building was placed on its edge, and the classrooms open to the inner courtyard. Again the function and form are skillfully combines and the three wings of the building are used for functional grouping of the spaces. Besides classrooms, cabinets and offices, the school had a kitchen and dining room, workshops in the basement, a gymnasium, a drawing hall, a singing hall and an auditorium. The school also houses the infirmary, library and reading room, an apartment for the principal, an atelier for the art teacher and accommodation for the help in the basement as well.

Lobby of The First Boys High School, today The First Belgrade High School  

Equally functional and contemporary in program as The Second Girls High School, this school building was designed as an example of the International style, with no unnecessary decoration. White facade, lack of decoration and the rounded corner form clearly point to the influence of modernism. Like her peers of the Belgrade school of modernism of the time, Milica  Krstić has too, and with success, applied the principles of Bauhaus and Modernism, and gave this part of Belgrade one of its architectural symbols. In 1989, The First Belgrade High School was declared a cultural heritage.

Auditorium of the First Boys High School, today First Belgrade High School  

Milica Krstić spent her entire career in the Architectural department of the Ministry of Construction, where she took the entire path of professional advancement, from subarchitect to inspector. During this time she was engaged on a large number of projects, as construction supervision, as audit for projects by other authors and in various committees evaluating and approving different projects. She was a very educated women, who spoke French, Spanish, English and German, and was energetic and responsible. Advancing in service, she was given an opportunity to work and live for a while in Buenos Aires and Ankara, working on the construction of Embassy building for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Her personal and professional values brought her recognition in service, as well as several government medals. By suggestion of Minister of Construction, 1928 she received the St.Sava Medal of 5^th order. In 1935, again at suggestion from the Ministry, she received the St.Sava Medal of 4^th order. As a senior consultant, in 1938 she was appointed head of the Section for state buildings and buildings intended for public use of the Architectural department, at the same time her colleague Momir Korunović was appointed head of the Section for monumental buildings, churches and monuments. In 1939 another medal followed – the Yugoslav crown.

She was socially active in professional associations like the Architect’s Club, where she held several lectures about conferences she visited abroad, transferring to her colleagues her own impressions about their peers who are today considered as Modernist icons, as well as female societies such as the Circle of Serbian Sisters and the Yugoslav women’s league for peace and freedom. She fought for better standing of her female colleagues and often emphasized their work and credits.

Drawing of the ground floor of the family house in Silvija Kranjčevića Street with original sketches 

She finally reached the highest position at the Ministry of Construction – she was named inspector in 1940, one year before retiring. Milica Krstić spent the war years and the turbulent post-war times in her house in Silvija Kranjčevića Street, which she built with her husband in 1937, based on her own design. Through the house passed Germans and partisans, uninvited guests and criminals, some for shorter and some for longer periods, and Milica Krstić remained through all that hardship with strong spirit and unbreakable will, to which testify the remaining documents from her life. She passed in 1964, and her house was afterwards, in 1970s and 1990s, completely altered and extended.

Among her personal documents there is a hand written oath she took in front of the Minister of Construction when in 1934 she became Consultant of 4^th group. The oath read: I, Milica Krstić, do swear to Allmighty God that I will be loyal to the ruling King Peter II and the Fatherland, that I will do my duty according to law and lawful instructions, consciously, diligently and impartially, keeping in mind only common public interest and avoiding all that could be detrimental to the duty hereby entrusted to me. So help me God.

Author of text and photos Milena Zindović.

Special thanks to Mrs. Maja Čolak-Antić, who provided valuable insight into the life and personality of Milica Krstić, as well as her surviving personal documents.

Co-founder of the non-government organization EXPEDITIO, Biljana Gligorić, as part of the current project by CAB: Women in Architecture, talks about responsibility, ethics and the role of architects in transition societies. 

On begginings

Architecture was my choice already after elementary school. I finished architecture high school and was lucky to realize the beauty of architecture at a young age. The basic reason was my love for drawing, so there was no big dilemma about my future profession. Talent for drawing, understanding of space and its qualities and the good fortune of meeting great people during my education, all defined my professional path. In the process of my professional development a teaching assistant Ružica Božović Stamenović played an important role. Very early, during my studies, she managed to humble me enough that I didn’t become a slave of my ego but remained open minded, not scared of the later practice and didn’t give up the continuous process of self improvement and learning. My colleagues, with whom I work, also helped me understand mutual trust and shared vision are the most important things in order to create a nice and quality business environment.

Figure 1. Part of animation that represented Expeditio at the 9th Venice Biennale in 2004, part of the exhibition Montenegrin ECO-logic Lab 

On practice approach

I believe the most important thing in any profession today is to love what you do and commit to it. That you are giving yourself to the work is something people unmistakably feel, whether they are business partners or clients. It is important to understand the purpose of an architect in the contemporary world, understand the social context and know that your actions don’t only shape  space, but you are also a social entity with certain undeniable ethical principles. Like maybe never before, the profession of an architect today is underrated and almost humiliated, and contemporary and future generations have the task of regaining its dignity. Maybe that can be an advice, to work on yourself and become good and decent people who will put  their knowledge in service firstly to the community and the profession’s principles, and put clients and decision makers second.

On career traps

A young colleague should understand her role and the position of women in society, know that equality is not yet achieved and that it is necessary to support this goal. Only societies based on true gender equality can be progressive societies. It’s important to avoid becoming an architect by the male model, which is neither better nor worse, but different. She should foster and cherish her female sensibility and understanding for needs that maybe the male colleagues could not recognize and spatially materialize the right way.

Figure 2. Volunteer work camp in Perast

On most important projects

My most significant professional success is succeeding in maintaining an organization and company for 16 years with my colleagues. Projects come and go, but the very fact that we are able to do what we love and make a living while doing it is a big success for me. I believe the way we work, as well as the topics we choose, are consequence of this female principal. Often these are topics which are least treated in official activities of the architectural profession, often completely neglected such as children’s playgrounds, activating public spaces, adjusting spaces for disabled persons etc. I believe this is what makes a difference in my professional engagement and still makes us a different organization from some average architectural office. Figure 3. First award at the art competition The city I want to live in, organized by Expeditio

On principles

There were moments where a work offer departed from some of my own principles and principles of my organization, but it is the teamwork, the loyalty to the common vision and constant attention that these situations don’t happen, all prevented any major compromises. The consistent adherence to principles that have a common rather than private interest are deeply rooted in our organization business principles and through all these years we took great care not to violate them. This is not to say there weren’t any challenges and unusual offers, but there were almost no ill minded, intentionally bad ones. And when we did make compromises, I think it was never to the detriment of our core principles. Figure 4. A billboard as part of the Expeditio project Look around you - think about space

On activism in architecture

While working in Expedito, I understood that architecture is a social issue, that it is important to acknowledge this as well as the fact that space design is a deeply political issue. It’s neither good nor bad, it just is. Also, we understood that the first step, before practicing architecture in a society, is the necessity to help build the society on a correct values system. We live in transitional societies which are based on completely deteriorated or wrong values which are reflected in the space itself. By self improvement,  the improvement of one’s surrounding, and consequently the improvement of society, we sometimes influence spatial design more then by doing design itself. We have faulty laws, bad strategy, bad plans which brutally waste and destroy space. This is no longer the question of professional inability or corruption, but of ignorance and lack of vision of decision makers to perceive, imagine and plan a space in the right way. My role is now not only the role od architect but someone who must educate on spatial values, help establish  good strategies, but also to pressure the authorities to implement the adopted plans. I think it’s almost impossible to be an architect in a post-transition society, and not be an activist. Figure 5.  More the 1500 participants took part in workshops, trainings, round tables, presentations and discussions organized by Expeditio Maybe it’s necessary in all societies and I believe it’s inseparable. We can not allow to become only technicians, blind servants to the client and plans, because our work largely affects the lives of many people, much more than the work of other creative authors. We must show responsibility to true values, existing spaces and buildings, nature and animals, in order for our actions not to disrupt the fine balance which exists in the spaces in which we act. The architect is someone who is basically a creator and visionary and his thoughts and actions must outlive him. We must be sensitive to all the wrongs in society and use our authority to fight for a better society and thus a better living environment. It’s inseparable. Each architect should serve only the common interest of the society he or she works in, the professional principles  and raise his or her voice to all attempts of trampling over these principles. Biljana Gligorić deals with architecture in an unconventional way – since 1997, together with her faculty colleagues, she runs a small but important and influential organization Expeditio, based in Kotor, Montenegro, and promoting a sustainable approach to the city and architecture. Through numerous projects, programs, activities, gatherings and publications, this group has become an essential partner to citizens, civil society, and government and local authorities, in the process of  establishing order in the spaces of Montenegro and the region. With their principle activities and dedication, today they are a role model to all those with the desire and ambition to undertake a similar project, which is to fight for their city or profession.  

Prof. Eva Vaništa Lazarević, PhD, speaks of  her professional development, challenges and successes and gives advice to younger colleagues as part of the current project by CAB: Women in Architecture.

On Beginnings, Support and Role-Models

My first picture related to architecture, which I vaguely remember, was taken in completely white space of my father’s office, with drawing tables and T-square rulers. I had no more than five or six years then. Architecture was present throughout my growing up, from everyday conversations at the table, discussions, dialogues, comments in our house to Mies Barcelona furniture – at that time most unusual for non-architectural guests.

I never doubted what would be my future occupation, even as a child.

My father, still an important support and role-model in my life, did not believe in the possibility of my professional development in a different environment – that is why – I suppose, stubbornness, along with inherited diligence, is my strongest characteristic, that has probably unconsciously led me through my career.

Bauhaus movement, in the broadest sense, presents an axis, way of thinking I adopted very early – characteristic for the Zagreb architecture school and the artistic environment of my background. I graduated early, at 21, as a serious, responsible and too early matured. Still, in spite of my rational attitude, I was determined to, due to an emotional turn, stop practicing architecture and become a housewife in the capital of France, the most beautiful city in the World.

Figure 1. Residential building in Jove Ilića Street 49, Belgrade

After a brief work in Rad company and usual tiresome non-creative architectural tasks of drafting, or to begin with, only erasing with razors, and then later bad experiences at the Heritage Preservation Institute, life brought me to the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade.

Figure 2. Residential building in Jove Ilića Street 49, Belgrade

My arrival did not go unnoticed – though not because of me personally, but because 29 other candidates of male sex, all from this faculty. The issue of my origin was openly brought up (it was in 1990), but one of the most respected professors, without actually knowing me, publicly stood up for me. I learned this detail much later, by chance.

Figure 3. Residential and commercial complex in Teodora Drajzera Street, Belgrade

As a Master of Science (in preservation of building heritage, in Zagreb), I still had to start from the beginning: as a junior teaching assistant. It was an injustice, done to me by the faculty lawyer, quite common at that time.

Nevertheless, I have passed all steps up to the position of full-time professor without delays, unusually for our faculty environment. Until recently, before reaching the highest title (when you become a potential danger to the majority), I felt only good energy, blessed by friendship and professional affection of fellow-professors Miljković and Mladenović (my mentors), Mitrović, Arsić and Pavić. Professor Rajović created a sketchbook dedicated to me, where our colleagues would draw and write down their comments regularly.

I did what I studied for and what I enjoyed, in an environment that gladly accepted me. Today, it is considered to be almost impossible to achieve. And I am grateful for that privilege.

On Advices

People in our line of work seldom give advice, so all my experience is gained through errors in entrepreneurship – and they were numerous: such as too great expectations and faith in people. I was new to business and had a totally anti-managerial way of thinking, leading my company – and here we are in a woman’s world – like a mother. Some fifty young colleagues, most of them female, came and went through the bureau and I believe to have provided them firstly with work élan and taught them to be responsible. Of course, the most important in the process were practical suggestions and upgrading of knowledge they lacked.

The results of their academic training were modest, probably due to insufficient engagement and ethics of individuals participating in the process. I believe that the problem is not in the structure of their training, but in teachers that did not give themselves enough and weren’t good role-models. All those problems aroused in the last decade.

Professional advices at the faculty, or rather negative objections, related always to my personal emotional approach – especially while i was the head of the Urban Planning Department. Still, I claim that emotionality, and vulnerability along with it, is the strongest female virtue and should not be given up. Even, literally, in a man’s line of work, at a construction site, with a helmet on. I wore high heels, for instance, throughout my entire career and I am a living example that it is impractical, but possible. It is a part of the femininity a lady-architect should not give up.

My advice today, in a hard year we live in, would certainly be to create a background before undertaking any business activities, such as founding your own office: that is everything that I did not have. You need a partner behind you, if possible a good and already powerful architect, you need a manager and (or) developer, so you wouldn’t have to maintain close contacts with the source of your problems – clients. A lawyer is necessary, to make sure you do not get crossed, because fraud is an omnipresent and constant danger. It is good to have political or social background support and, most of all, a good patron (medieval style). Personally, I said no to a patron of that sort once, and he is now one of World’s leading businessmen. I refused such a long-term trade as humiliating... perhaps I was wrong.

On Career Traps

I do not distinguish so called female and male jobs – people differ in wits or capabilities and I especially value in people their creativity and broad understanding.

I regret that still most of my former excellent female students, for various reasons, abandon forever their demanding profession. I am horrified by the eastern syndrome – the role of women imposed to us through media: educated women in passive position, happy to be housewives. As marriage is one of the institutions slowly vanishing as a form of social binding – such thinking is not long-term. I am not a person contemplating on lost times, I unwillingly look back on them, but a framework of relations within which women function nowadays has never been more complicated.My impulsive resolution of some twenty or more years to stop practicing architecture and leave the country for emotional reasons seemed simple and temporary at the time – an today would be an immense challenge.

To my daughters, I gave this advice: Private life and emotions are more important in life, and work and ambition can wait. If with that there is a chance for a female person to do a creative job she studied for – the better. Both my daughters did not learn (since I do not have that shield myself) to protect themselves from a bad environment and often suffer because of that: it is, in my opinion, the most important trap Little Red Riding Hoods need to foresee and overcome.

Figure 4. With her daughters

On Most Important Projects

My most important realized project was (in my subjective opinion) the residential complex in Teodora Drajzera Street at Dedinje in Belgrade. Those are buildings on the edge of the Topčider hill, a serious engineering task, with the advantage of a great view of Avala mountain woods. A complex urban planning situation, problems with ownership and permits, all resulted in the end with the construction of villas and a larger office building at the corner position, now a landmark visible from multiple directions.

Figure 5. and 6. Residential and commercial complex in Teodora Drajzera Street, Belgrade

My largest project, not realized up to this date, was a five-star hotel in Bečići, on Montenegrin coast. A Russian investor, tycoon, invited me to be one of three architects participating in a competition: my opponents were very respectable architects, one particularly powerful in that region and the other a professor from Italy. At first, it seemed to be an impossible mission. I can’t say how I found strength to engage in designing 18,000 sq. m of complex function in less than a month. At that time, I did not have a bureau of my own, but worked with a partner and had to quickly establish one, rent an office space and furnish it.

Figure 8. Hotel in Bečići, Montenegro

I gathered the best of my ex students; we eagerly worked in two shifts. In fifteen days I had to design everything, and in following fifteen days to prepare a three-minute movie about the hotel. Professor Ličina helped a lot to resolve the function. The tycoon, Russian, upon the receipt of the movie and posters, spent one more month touring European and American hotel companies to verify the project.

I regard the first prize at this competition to be my most important victory so far.

And no, you can not tell in any way that all those project were done by a female architect. Architecture can only be good or bad, not female or male.

On the Sensibility of Investors

For an investor I remember as a hard adversary, with aesthetic demands unacceptable for me, I designed a complex of villas close to a hospital at Dedinje, Belgrade. He wanted those villas to resemble his hometown, Vrnjačka Banja, and I tried to make those villas – if not in my neomodern, minimal style – at least in accordance to local conditions and making use of the advantages of the location.

A sloped roof is the most common demand of the investor to be fought with. From Wright and his villas with strong elements and sloped roofs to reminiscences of Belgrade villas of 1920s and 1930s, the path of quasi-negotiations was hard. In the end, the investor won – unsatisfied with my purist expression, he gave the final blow with the help of the contractor and on-site supervisor (who later claimed to be the author), framing all windows with additional ornaments “to make the houses more beautiful” and adding on the front facade on each side his own mark – the chubby god Aeolus. That is why I do not recognize this complex as my own work. The power of the mightier, the one with the money, prevailed.

On Design and Urban Planning

Architectural design is my first choice, and I practiced it passionately from the early days, already during studies in Zagreb, working in the author studio of the famous architect Ivana Vitić, a rigid follower of the modern movement and a fabulous architect, as well as with the respected professor Nevena Šegvić, the author of the modern interpolation at the Peristyle in Split, Croatia, often compared to Adolf Loos villas.

Less is more (without is a bore – as postmodernists used to say), remained a motto I adopted from the great ones. I learned a lot form professor Ines Filipović, my mentor, who happened to be my first, and quite coincidentally, female role-model in architecture. She was at the same time a skilled designer, very feminine and strong, a fatal combination of power in our line of work. Her fashionable clothes was discussed in design and architecture circles of Zagreb with the same passion as her interior designs. Creativity reflected in all aspects of her personality. Unfortunately, she left us too early.

Since I got to lead, back in 1990, by chance Urban regeneration course, it grew from elective, with only a few students, to become one of important courses at the faculty, and also the topic of separate specialist studies. For more than twenty years, along with design work, I am involved in (by chance) theory of urban planning, with the same energy.

Figure 9. The cover page of the book Urban renewal in the new millenium

Recently, a friend of mine asked me how I spend my free time and was stunned with the answer. My free time is filled with writing books, reading and studying, and I do not consider this – unlike my friend – to be my disadvantage.

And to return to the issue of borders and scale: lines between design and urbanism do not exist in practice. The author who aspires to higher goals shows through his work that he masters both. He must – in order to be recognized and to mean something or leave something behind.

Eva Vaništa Lazarević, PhD is a full-time professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Belgrade University. She is the author of numerous publications dealing with topics of urban reconstruction. Besides her academic work, she successfully runs her own architecture office. She is the author of a series of remarkable architectural realizations and the laureate of different awards. She was an advisor at the Ministry for environmental protection and spatial planning and also participated in the work of numerous professional bodies.

In the first feature of the current project by CAB: Women in Architecture, art historian Bojana Ibrajter Gazibara introduces us to the life and work of Jelisaveta Načić, the first woman architect in Serbia. The brave lady Jelisaveta Načić, chose for herself in many ways an unusual and extraordinary life path. Born into a rich and respectable tradesman’s family in Belgrade in 1878, she was successfully educated and after finished grammar school decided to continue her education at the University. This was a rarity in a country where at the turn of the century only seven percent of women had elementary literacy. It was that same year, 1896, when Jelisaveta was starting her studies, that a separate Architecture Department was established at the newly open Technical Faculty of the Belgrade University. Until then students wishing to study architecture departed abroad, to bigger Middle-European university centers, and came back to their home land afterwards to work in the Ministry of Construction. So Jelisaveta Načić becomes the first woman in Serbia to enroll into this typicaly male Faculty, and in year 1900 she was part of the first generation of graduated students of architecture and the first woman architect in Serbia. Two years after graduation Jelisaveta Načić acquires valuable practice working as a technical intern in the Ministry of Construction, but after passing the license exam in 1902 fails to find employment as an architect at the Ministry since by law the title of senior civil servant could not be attributed to a female person, but only to man who served in the Military service. The decisive Jelisaveta Načić was not stopped by this. She spent her working years in civil service, working in the Engineering – Architectural department of the Belgrade Municipality, opening thus, together with doctor Draga Jočić, the path to employment of women in the public sector. At the very beginning of her career, in 1903, Jelisaveta Načić achieves an important success: third place in the Competition for Conceptual Design for the church in Topola, with very strong competitors and with a strict and respected jury. This success positioned her in the field, and brought her many private commissions over the next few years. Staircase with fountain at Kalemegdan park   Working as an architect in the Belgrade Municipality Jelisaveta Načić had the opportunity to work in various fields, she was innovative and brave, and with great success took part in urban and architectural design of both private and public buildings. Working in the development and realization of projects by other architects, Jelisaveta Načić contributed to the planning of the Kalemegdan Park in the Belgrade fortress, the famous reconstruction of Terazije in 1911, as well as the unrealized design for the square in front of the Belgrade Cooperative building. During her engagement in these urban projects, she also designed independently, which is still visible today in the conserved granite neobaroque staircase with fountain that connects the main walkway (for which she had designed the decorative railing destroyed in the First World War) to Pariska Street. Elementary school King Peter I in Belgrade Plan drawing of the Elementary school King Peter I Certainly the most famous architectural design by Jelisaveta Načić, a true architectural master piece, is the building of the primary school next to the Main Belgrade Cathedral, later named "Primary school King Peter I” in the street that bears the same name. The construction of a contemporary school building with 16 classrooms, electrical lighting, heating system, toilets, auditorium, large vestibule and a gymnasium was a large and ambitious task. Jelisaveta Načić designed the building in the Academic style, but slightly departing from the strict rules of symmetry and adjusting the building to the site. With the right choice of architectural and decorative elements, she emphasized the central part with a skewed facade in the center of which is the main school entrance and on the first floor the windows of the auditorium. With this design Jelisaveta Načić proved her undisputable talent, and Belgrade and Serbia gained a completely contemporary school facility. The building is today listed as cultural heritage. Pavilion for Tuberculosis, demolished in 1919 Among her public work, Jelisaveta Načić designed in 1912 the Pavilion for Tuberculosis, which was demolished in 1919. Functional, with a large terrace for sunbathing of patients, the Pavilion was the first hospital of this kind in Serbia. Also, she is the author of the first circular kiln and other brick-making facilities in Prokop, destroyed during First World War. House of Marko Marković in Gospodar Jovanova street in Belgrade Jelisaveta Načić achieved considerable success in designing private homes, namely the home of bookstore owner Marko Marković from 1904, on the corner of Kapetan Mišina and Gospodar Jovanova streets, which has been recently listed as cultural heritage. With small amendments from the forth decade of the 20^th century, this house still today testifies to the continuity of city life on the Danube slope. Several private homes have been demolished over time due to war damages or changes in the urban plans, but based on a few that remain, more or less unaltered, we can create an impression about a certain type of house that was the original design of Jelisaveta Načić. Drawings of the house of Arsa Drenovac in Belgrade from 1907 Jelisaveta Načić has also tried herself in sacred architecture. After her success at the Competition for the church in Topola, she designed the church of Alexander Nevski on the corner of Cara Dušana and Francuska streets. Today’s appearance of the church is the work of architects Petar Popović and Vasilije Androsov, based on whose project the building was continued after it was interupted during the war. The church’s foundations were started based on the project by Jelisaveta Načić, and it is not known today to which extent the project by Popović and Androsov has similarities with the original concept. The only sacred building that has been completed according to Jelisaveta Načić’s design is the small memorial church in Štimlje in Kosovo from 1920, which has been reconstructed after it was damaged in 2004. Workers’ Housing Complex in Belgrade The Workers’ Housing Complex from 1910-1911 (between streets Venizelosova, Komnen Barjaktara and Herceg Stjepana ), the first building constructed purposefully for residential apartments in the Balkans region, is also the work of Jelisaveta Načić. They are characterized by simple architecture, almost without any ornaments, with comfortable, functional, yet inexpensive apartments. The block is closed with a long row of buildings from the third decade of the 20^th century, which fits in with Jelisaveta’s complex and concludes a harmonious whole. This building by architect Načić has been as well as listed as cultural heritage. Workers’ Housing Complex in Belgrade In 1913 Jelisaveta Načić designed the Terazije arch, placed on Terazije in honor of the return of the Serbian army from the Balkan wars. The legend remains that the arch’s inscription “There are still unliberated Serbs” caused her to be taken during the First World War to the concentration camp Neusiedl. The First World War interrupted her fruitful career. She kept working on the reconstruction of damaged Belgrade buildings until she was banished to the camp in 1916. At Neusiedl she married an Albanian revolutionary and poet Luka Lukai and gave birth to a daughter. She was released from the camp and returned to Belgrade, to her mother’s, with her daughter. Later with her husband she left for Skadar, and then Dubrovnik where she remained until her death in 1955. She never again worked as an architect and never received her pension. Elevation of the house on the corner of Srebrenička and Kosančićev venac streets from 1907 Jelisaveta Načić was a great talent. We often emphasize the fact that she was the first woman architect, but we would still talk about her as an architect if she was not a woman. That was the extent of her talent. Her designs are flawless, and we must acknowledged her extraordinary courage and perseverance to be a part of the first generation of architectural students and the first female graduate architect in the country, to be one of the first women employed in the public sector, as well as her courage to design, as a very young architect, the first modern school building, the first hospital for tuberculosis, the first circular kiln for making bricks, the first planned residential building in the Balkans. And all of this in a very short time. Vintage postcard of Belgrade showing the new elementary school Jelisaveta Načić is present in the urban memory of the city mostly with her extraordinary projects, but also with some concrete actions. In 2004 a street opposite her workers’ housing complex got her name. At the same time an initiative has been started to dedicate the existing building within the workers’ housing block to the memory of Jelisaveta Načić and create a park around it. This initiative, together with other similar projects, shows the willingness to save the memory of Jelisaveta Načić, and appropriately value her work and contribution to Belgrade’s architecture in the time when Belgrade was becoming a true European city. Bojana Ibrajter Gazibara, the author of this text, is an art historian – conservator and expert associated at the Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute of Belgrade. She participated several times in her career as a guest-lecturer in various manifestations related to architecture. She also cooperated with printed and electronic media on the topics of Belgrade architecture, notable architects and heritage buildings. She is the author and co-author of several exhibitions of cultural heritage.   Photos by Milena Zindović.

The global architectural community has been discussing the topic of Women in Architecture for quite some time. From research on the status of women in the architectural practice, discussions on Architect Barbie, through features focusing on forgotten women of the architectural past, up to the activities of specialized professional associations, this topic has become a serious movement which aims to draws focus and create change in the way the architectural professions works, and to turn the hermetic architectural community into a contemporary and lively profession which is enriched and improved by the diversity of its members. Centre for Architecture Belgrade would like to contribute to the discussion on women and their influence on architecture through a view at the local architectural history and contemporary practice. Women architects in Serbia have been active since the beginning of the 20^th century, and some of them have, albeit sometimes from the shadow, left an important and visible trace on our built environment. Starting with Jelisaveta Načić, through architects of the Modernist movement, to successful architects and urban desingers working today, women have succeeded in playing a key role in almost all phases of development of Serbian architecture. Regardless of today’s equality in architecture as well as other professions, the fact remains that women have entered and were recognized in the architectural profession much later than men, and we still don’t appreciate enough the work and opus of the women in our architectural history. We believe this topic to be significant and exciting to all who love and work in architecture, and above all to women in architecture who are today actively designing our built environment. Additionaly, a review of the feminine side of Serbian architecture could allow young members of our profession to find role models and examples with whose sensibility they can more easily identify. This is why in September we are starting the initiative Women in architecture. During 5 weeks Centre for Architecture Belgrade will present some of the influential women of our architectural history and contemporary practice through a series of articles and interviews on our website, as well as features on social networks. In an attempt to find answers to questions such as whether there is a female principle in architecture and what makes the female contribution to architecture special, we hope to draw attention to the rich opus and important contribution, independent as well as in teamwork, of women architects to our cities and built environment.

Milena Zindović of Centre for Architecture Belgrade was invited by lecturers from Tunghai University in Taiwan to participate as a guest critic at the final presentation of the Tunghai architecture summer studio in Rome, which took place end of July in the Cornell AAP studio space in Rome. The workshop entitled ‘Building the Common Space’ was led by Luca Garofalo of the Roman architecture studio IaN+, and assisted by Tien Ling, lecturer at the architecture department of Tunghai University. 18 students of the Tunghai University from Taiwan attended the workshop, and in groups of two worked on conceptual proposals for a religious space located in either the Roman Forum or the courtyard that houses the visitor’s center, opposite the Forum entrance. The aim of this short but fruitful workshop was to explore the relationship of architecture and urban heritage through design and function of a religious building, which can as well be seen as public/common space. In the complex and historical Rome, it is a challenge to create a common space which would allow the public, the citizens and the common interests to reclaim the public historical spaces which are today mostly populated by tourist. The workshop’s final presentation showcased 9 projects, which answered the topis in interesting ways and enriched the discussion on religion, architecture, culture and public space with an Eastern perspective and understanding. Other guest critics were Carmelo Baglivo, co-founder of IaN+, and Juan Carlos Artolozaga, graduate student at Cornell University. Each year Tunghai University from Taiwan organizes a summer studio in Rome for its students. The students are introduced to roman and Italian history, culture and architecture and, in co-operation with lecturers from Cornell University, participate in an architectural workshop that allows them to creatively express the ideas and inspiration taken from their time in Italy in the form of actual proposals for the city’s urban space. Student work: Praying in the wall by Ting-Wei Lee and Ta-Wei Chen Living pillars by Yu-Ching Huang and Wei-Ting Liu Praying room beneath the water by Yun-Chu Liang and Po-Chen Wu Il Segreto Giardino by Tyson Chen and William Chen Photos: Tien Ling