Presidential Palace in New Belgrade: Evaluation Approaches to Post-World War II Architectural Heritage

Abstract

The discipline of preserving cultural monuments faces the challenge of large-scale contemporary and living heritage, which should be adequately documented and evaluated in order to be effectively protected and preserved. The valorization of architectural heritage, especially its most modern part, requires extensive consideration and estimation due to unstable social conditions, frequently changing purposes and temporal devastation. Many reasons can greatly affect our experience of the past as well as the conclusions, judgments and values we attribute to its monuments. This paper explores approaches to evaluating post-World War II architecture using the example of the Presidential Palace in New Belgrade. The research goal is to contribute to the objective valorization of the building based on different perceptions of the built structure and its surroundings through time, as well as specific meanings and emotions it causes for contemporaries.

Keywords

• Presidential Palace
• New Belgrade
• post-WWII architecture
• evaluation criteria
• meaning changes