Nasleđe (Jan 2020)
Architect Dušan Babić: Reconstruction of identity
Abstract
To this day, the Belgrade oeuvre of architect Dušan Babić has not been subjected to broader historiographic research, making the elements of his architectural vocabulary all the more difficult to define and evaluate. The available archival material does provide valuable insights into the life of architect Babić and his works in the capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1927 and 1946. He produced over fifty designs for residential and mixed use buildings (comprising both commercial and residential space), several churches and the crematorium in Belgrade, simultaneously participating in at least ten big state competitions with notable entries, such as the designs for the Terazije slope, the Princes' Palace in the Dedinje Royal Compound, the Veterans Club building, etc. In the diversity of movements, styles and trends developing in Serbia between the two world wars as a result of the surge of predominantly West European cultural influences, the application and modification of modern architecture principles formed the mainstay of Babić's creative endevours. Stereometric forms, cubic volumes, unadorned facades, and strict lines were refined with often more freely interpreted bas-relief ornamentation, free standing sculptures or geometric forms. Babić made an effort to turn each and every structure into a unique architectural experience, especially by dynamically interpreted drawings of perspective and accentuated details.
