Heritage of Early Modernism in Residential Architecture in Sarajevo

Abstract

Appearance of modern architecture in the early 20th century brought revolutionary changes in the meaning and sense of architectural design. New design implies a new way of life of modern man and entirely new approach to residential architecture. The new ideal of residential architecture becoming sunlit living units oriented toward the green, free of bulky furniture, with flexible, open plan, equipped and materialized in accordance to the time. Pure and simple design without decorations started to replace eclectic artistic expressions of the past times. In many European countries, a modernism was reaching its peak during the 1920s and 1930s by promoting and strengthening the ideas of the Bauhaus School and Athens charter and by increasing a number of young architects that have finished schools of architecture in Central European universities and continue to work with significant names of modernism. Such the case was in Sarajevo with a numerous of architects that worked from the second half of the 1920s and later. They have developed remarkable pieces of modernist architecture that are not appropriately treated by institutions and understood by wider public. The purpose of paper is to contribute indicating of value of such architecture that should result with raising of awareness about its importance and future proper interventions based on experience of similar projects related to protection and promotion of modern architectural heritage, that were realized in Europe and wider. Early modernism in residential architecture has brought tectonic changes in development of architecture and cities, quality and way of human living. It was just beginning in creation of extraordinary avant-garde modernism that existed during period of Socialist Yugoslavia in second half of 20th century. A comprehensive understanding of modernism from mentioned period in study case of Sarajevo and promotion its values will help to build positive and honest relation to heritage which was part of common international European identity.