Three unrealised construction projects in Kralja Aleksandra boulevard from the 1947 five-year development plan for Belgrade

Abstract

The architecture of the period of socialist realism in Belgrade and Serbia has been a neglected topic by scholars and professionals, but now enough time has elapsed to allow a deeper critical approach. While the development of Novi Beograd has been a subject of research and study for quite some time, the plans and projects for the old part of the city have largely remained out of the focus of attention. The goal of this paper is to shed some light on and analyse the design process for three unrealised projects envisaged by the first post-war five-year development plan for Belgrade (1947-51), all three intended to be located along Kralja Aleksandra Boulevard: the Art Museum, the Home of the Central Committee of the People's Youth of Yugoslavia (CCPYY) and the Concert Hall. These three case studies will hopefully help lay the basis for assessing the value of the architecture of socialist realism in Serbia, a concept that, being ideologically imposed and called off within a short span of time, left few realised projects behind, which has contributed to opposing interpretations as to its existence.

Keywords

• socialist realism
• Tašmajdan
• Kralja Aleksandra Blvd.
• Art Museum
• Home of the Central Committee of the People's Youth of Yugoslavia
• Nikola Dobrović
• Đorđe Ristić
• Miladin Prljević
• Branko Bon