DANIEL MARSHALL ARCHITECTS

20.05.11 by Nick Sayes

Abandoned Yugoslavian Monuments

Abandoned Yugoslavian Monuments
Found on Crack Two (via ArchDaily)

These structures were commissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place (like Tjentište, Kozara and Kadinjača), or where concentration camps stood (like Jasenovac and Niš). They were designed by different sculptors (Dušan Džamonja, Vojin Bakić, Miodrag Živković, Jordan and Iskra Grabul, to name a few) and architects (Bogdan Bogdanović, Gradimir Medaković…), conveying powerful visual impact to show the confidence and strength of the Socialist Republic. In the 1980s, these monuments attracted millions of visitors per year, especially young pioneers for their “patriotic education.” After the Republic dissolved in early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were forever lost.

Why we like this

• Bold, powerful, sculptural, brutal & concrete
• The notion of abandonment and ruin is always appealing to DMA, often discussed

More images on Crack Two