A Study on the Architectural Characteristics of Drago Galić’s Apartment Designs in Relation to Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation

Abstract

Drago (1907-1992) has been acknowledged as one of most important modern Croatia architects of the 20th century and noted for his controversial apartment buildings at 35-35a and 43-43a blocks on Vukovar Street in Zagreb, Croatia. Although the two housings were highly regarded as the best examples of the post-war housing design in Croatia, a plagiarism controversy arose due to its similar exterior looks to Le Corbusier's d'Habitation in Marseille in 1952. This research intends to comparatively analyze architectural features implemented on the works of apartment of Drago and Le Corbusier's d'Habitation. The analysis focuses on architectural characteristics categorized in three parts: unit plan, community space, and unit combinations. The site survey was carried out to yield more useful information for the analysis. During this process, written and photographic documentations are collected for the further interpretation. In addition, scale drawings are reconstructed for the in-depth analysis of the project.