engleski

Constructing the World of Equal Opportunities – the Case of Architect Vladimir Antolić

In the period from 1930’s up to 1950’s Croatian “salaried architects” working for municipal, county and state authorities in Zagreb were the active participants in society’s modernization. Before the WW2 they had a unique opportunity to deal with urban planning and social standard buildings. Aware of the major social problems, housing crises and the lack of the most basic infrastructure, they introduced socially responsible approach in architecture understood as a means of constructing a more just society. Unfortunately, its work was limited due to the social and political conditions in the totalitarian Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After the WW2 in the new socialist Yugoslavia the circumstances radically changed. Architects get a chance to participate in the post-war reconstruction, intensive modernization and massive society transformation. Eventually, together with new challenges and opportunities the creation of the new socialist society physical environment brought new limitations – difficult material conditions, short deadlines, rigid functionalism etc. The subject of this paper is the particular case of Vladimir Antolić, city of Zagreb “salaried architect”, whose actions were more of an exception than a rule at the time. The focus is on his work on Zagreb regulatory plan and public engagement from 1932 until 1953 when he left Croatia because of disagreement with city urban planning politics. He was dedicated to his belief and brave enough to oppose the political establishment in order to provide the implementation of Zagreb regulatory plan, that is, reconstruction of pre-war slums.

Vladimir Antolić ; Zagreb Master Plan in 1930s and 1950s ; Salery architects

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