The construction of three elementary schools in Belgrade in 1928 as a turning point in the development of school building architecture

Abstract

During the 1930s, Belgrade was facing a serious deficiency of primary schools. The problem culminated in 1928 when, at the initiative of its citizens, the Municipality of Belgrade designed two and helped the construction of a third school, in settlements at the time being the city outskirts. Along with their significance as schools that were built after a long standstill, the primary schools in Bulbulder, Voždovac and Dušanovac represented a turning point in the development of school building architecture. In addition to their functionality and good hygiene standards, the three schools presented in this paper also announced the further advancement in school construction, initiating the final adoption of the Belgrade Municipality development plan. The research of this, so far insufficiently explored, field of construction has made it possible to shed the light and present more details about the role of architects Žarko Krstić and Desanka Manojlović, nearly unknown to the historiography, as well as the work of a little-known author, construction engineer Radoslav Todorović.

Keywords

• primary schools
• architecture
• Belgrade
• year 1928