Driven by mere curiosity, I tried to find out - as every year at this time - whether there are more future young female architects enrolled at the Faculty of Architecture in Podgorica (many young, many cute) or young future architects (equally young, equally cute) - no would I confirm (or refute) the thesis that in recent years more high school girls than high school boys are determined to put themselves at the service of the Pure Virgin of Architecture - and that, accordingly, architecture here is slowly growing into the so-called female profession - when...
I dug up, therefore (collateral), information that an intervention is being prepared on another one of the buildings built according to the architect's designs Milan Popović (1934 -1985) - I would bet that this is the last building by Milan Popović that has not (yet) been demolished or intervened in a way that seriously degrades the original concept - this time directed, believe it or not, by Mr. Božović, the rector of the University of Montenegro - who harbors serious architectural aspirations (let's just remember the unfortunate "Competition for the creation of conceptual architectural solutions for residential and commercial buildings within the framework of the DUP "University Center Podgorica" in Podgorica" from 2022) and Mrs. Perovic, dean of the Faculty of Architecture in Podgorica - in the role of the strongest trump card that Božović could pull just to build - because, as we know, you have to build...
And as I always have words in mind Anastasia Miranović - from the time when she held the position of director of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Property - that WHO speaks (or writes) is more important than the content - than WHAT that someone said (or wrote) - so: WHO, not WHAT - I decided that on this issue, I still turn to the lady Sonja Radović Jelovac - Acting Director General of the Directorate for the Implementation of State Guidelines in the Field of Architecture at the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property Mr. Radunović - so let it be officially set (or not set) according to this complex problem...
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Dear Acting Director General of DzSDSuOA, at MPuiDI, Mrs. Radović Jelovac,
"The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, the Directorate for the Implementation of State Guidelines in the Field of Architecture, according to the request of the University of Montenegro (UCG), issued," it says at the address ucg.ac.me (June 25, 2024), " consent to the conceptual architectural solution for the reconstruction and upgrading of the laboratory, as part of the building of the Faculty of Engineering (Lamela C) of UCG".
This time we are talking about the lamella on the west side of the building of the Technical Faculties - which, I would bet, was not built at the same time as the aforementioned building (which should definitely be checked) - but is an inseparable part of the whole of the Technical Faculties - both functionally and in form and in every to another view.
I will remind you (all of you - not only Mrs. Radović Jelovac) that the foundation stone for the construction of the building of the Technical Faculty in Podgorica (Titograd) was laid on April 29, 1975 - on the anniversary of the Constituent Assembly of the University of Titograd (which was held in the same 1975 year - renamed to the University "Veljko Vlahović") - and that the building was awarded the Republican Borba award for architecture for the year 1977 - with the obligatory remark that in the monograph "University of Montenegro 1974 - 2024" it is stated that the building was completed and occupied in 1978 . year.
The project of the Technical Faculty facility was signed by Milan Popović and Pavle Popović - and that building represents, I have no doubt that many will agree, one of the (only a few - perhaps a dozen, no more than fifteen) most significant architectural realizations on the soil of Montenegro from the socialist period (of which the lion's share is signed by the architect Milan Popović) - regardless of the deplorable state in which the mentioned object is (currently) located.
At this moment, I do not have reliable information when the realization of the Lamela C project began within the framework of the Technical Faculties - I assume that this lamella was built later - in the eighties - again according to the project of the mentioned tandem.
"The architectural concept (Intervention) on the existing building," he says on ucg.ac.me, "is strongly conditioned by the fact of the need to respect the existing values of the architectural heritage of the second half of the 20th century. At the same time, it is conditioned by the real need to expand existing capacities." - which means that first there was a real need to expand the existing capacities - and after that need there was an awareness that this is still a valuable architectural achievement from the period of socialism (1945 - 1989).
If you ask me, Mrs. Radović Jelovac, Lamela C should not be added - and I am surprised, to be honest, that behind this idea is none other than the indispensable rector Božović, but Dean Perović - in front of a higher education institution that is the cradle of future female architects - many young, many cute - and equally young and equally cute young architects - which only confirms the negative practice of countless (and usually unnecessary) interventions on the most valuable architectural heritage (especially from the socialist era) throughout our country in the past period - let's take, for example, the accidental intervention on two buildings of Milan Popović - the intervention on the building of the Faculty of Law and Economics in Podgorica and the intervention on the building of the Elementary School "Maksim Gorki", also in Podgorica.
On this occasion, I would not go into the detailed analysis of the concept of the planned intervention on Lamela C of the building of the Technical Faculty in Podgorica, which is supported by dean Perović and her team of associates (there is not a single associate in her team, which is a kind of curiosity) - mainly for the reason that, in principle, ( strongly) I do not support that intervention - the building of the Technical Faculties - including Lamela C - should be restored in its original form - as well as the entire complex of the Technical Faculties - and the second reason is that on the MPPUiDI website (gov.me/mdup), in addition to The decision of June 20 of the current year - by which Siniša Minic, Odovićev Acting Chief State Architect approves UCG's conceptual design for the reconstruction and extension of part of the Faculty of Engineering building (Lamella C) - this conceptual design was not made available to the public for inspection - they praise the valuable practice of providing the public with conceptual designs approved by the Chief State Architect/ architect was abolished by (long forgotten) friend Stevka - and it would be really nice, Mrs. Radović Jelovac, if you would reintroduce that practice - to the joy of all of us who care about architecture.
Dear Mrs. Radović Jelovac, I would be very pleased - and immensely so - if you would withdraw the mentioned Decision of your predecessor - related to the intervention on Lamela C of the building of the Technical Faculty in Podgorica - and if you would start a serious professional debate about the role of architectural heritage - and architecture in general - in the formation of new value-identity ideas about this place of ours - that is, about the space we consider our own - strictly in the context, it goes without saying, of the necessity of creating and adopting the famous State Guidelines for the Development of Architecture...
Bonus video:
