You are on page 1of 5

Survey and Analyses of Restoration of the residential building from

Austro-Hungarian period

INTRODUCTION
The final quarter of the last century marked a turning point in the urban
development of the city. Under Austro-Hungarian rule, Sarajevo rapidly
developed along the European urban model. Among the first architects who came
to Sarajevo at that time were Josip Vancaš and Karl Paržik. These young architects
brought with them the architectural ideas and trends of the Viennese Arts
Academy and Department of Architecture at Higher Technical School. Their initial
works were therefore carried out in the neo-styles of historicism, which were
followed by those of Arts Nouveaux. As these architects became acquainted with
the local architecture they started looking for a particular stylistic expression
which would represent a logical development of the already existing architectural
styles. Realizing that the pseudo-moorich, or pseudo-oriental style is essentially
that of a completely different region, namely – the Mediterranian basin, they
began increasingly to seek inspiration from local architectural forms and
practices. Josip Vancaš, Rudolf Tonnies and Josip Pospišil promoted both in theory
and practice, the new ''Bosanski slog'' style, which was based on the rules of the
bosnian architecture of the Ottoman period.

The development in the interpretation and application of the basic principles of


the Art Nouveaux is noticable first and foremost in the styles of the city's
residential villas where we find greater freedom of dvelopment of the
dispositional basis. This, in turn, gave rise to the outward expression of the
interior lay-out. By the end of the first decade of the twentieth century these
tendencies were increasingly applied to residential as well as public building.
Through the use of vertical structural elements – risalits, wall piers and jetties, as
well as the relief mortar structure of the parapet, the compostion of the facade
naturally arose from the interior lay-out. Even when decorative elements applied
to the facades were not exclusively of the Art Nouveaux type. At the same time,
the purely decorative elements of floral, anthropomorphic or geometrical
character were reduced and used for connecting the functionally essential
compositional elements of the facades.

~1~
Survey and Analyses of Restoration of the residential building from
Austro-Hungarian period

Survey and Analyses


Architectural Survey
The building eleven, as it is marked in given map, is placed in Sarajevo, Mula
Mustafa Bašeskija's street, near the famous town's monument ''Vječna vatra'' and
verily close to Markale market and Sarajevo Cathedral „Jesus's Heart“. The
current building is residential in terms of functional aspect, where it has ground
floor with commercial plus three residential floor above it. The building is 11,2
meters wide and 17,3 height. Placed between two more masive and huge
buildings, makes this residential building quite narrow in lenght. The building
belongs to Art Nouveaux style, which is purely noticable in its ground floor, where
some anthropomorphical features were graved in its structure – the heads of
Queen Marija. Windows of this building are arranged in row, with the differrential
stylistic decoration on each floor. Especially, the extruded part of the building are
visualy noticeable with specific nouveux style; vertical composition and symmetry
of terraces and windows.

The ground floor, where we have commercial part, is intentionally different


from the rest of the floors in terms of the colour of the facades, decoration and
measurements. The entrance for the residential is placed on the left side and for
the commercial on the right side. Also, on this floor, there are two huge windows
with decoration of female heads on the pillars between these two windows and
some other decorative elements, such as vertical lines and stuff like that. The first
floor and two others are similar; The distinction between three of them are in the
form of design of the two windows per each floor with extruded part of the
windows and terraces which are quite similar except last one floor. Each floor has
the same height and width, which makes this building completelly symetrical.
The building on the left side of this, were built in neo-classical style, and on the
right side is building which shows some neo-classical features but mostly its
general structure is designed in Art Nouveax style or so called - Secession.

~2~
Survey and Analyses of Restoration of the residential building from
Austro-Hungarian period

Analyses of features of the building


Cultural and historical character of the building

 The building doesn't posses the particular cultural value


 It belongs to Austro-Hungarian period of rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Architectural value

 Artistic as well as aesthetic value is fairly visible on the details of the facade
and within the structural composition.
 The building is being fully integrated in ambiance in spite of meaning and
function of the group of the buildings.
 The building probably belongs to the complex of residential building block
built by Josip Vancaš in behalf of Evladijet-Dženetić vakuf.
 It is unknown accurate evidence or data of when it is built and by whom.
But if we consider the fact that major propositions of constructing the
residentials in street Maršala Tita (today street Mustafa Bašeskija) has been
taken by austrohungarian architect Josip Vancaš, it might be said that this
building, among the others, belongs to his architectural project.

Stylistic features

 Visual interpretation and application is based on neo-styles (neo-


renaissance) but follows the crucial elements of early moderna or simply
Art Nouvex features.
 The building is specifically sticked out by the proportions and decorations
around the windows:
 Within the layout of the windows, small piers of balustrades are added
under the windows on each floor, with the different design.

~3~
Survey and Analyses of Restoration of the residential building from
Austro-Hungarian period

 Around the each windows, are traced the double-streak that reaches from
the floor base till the next floor, except last one, where this streak doesn't
reach the base of roof.
 By analyzing the overall stylistical features, the building tends to pay-
impression of elements of neo-rennaisance style.

Materials and structural system applied

 Usage of burnt clay brick was extensive in this period, as the application of
material.
 After the bricks was laid, the plaster was applicable material for covering
surface of the building facade.

Purpose of the building

 Residential building + commercial part at ground level


Architectural form

 By tracing the fulfillment of Vienna Secession, architect wanted to pay


emphasis on geometrical forms and clean lines of structural form of the
building.
 The building doesn't tend to follow up all common formal characteristic of
art nouveau e.g. filled decoration elements of facade, even more the
application of them are in qiute low.
 Main intention of this form of facade is vivid expression of skeletal system
construction or by other language the „transparenty of structure“.

~4~
Survey and Analyses of Restoration of the residential building from
Austro-Hungarian period

Placement of the building in the urban fabric of immediate


environment
 The building is fulfilling the ''role'' of integration within the core of current
environment
 It doesn't dominate by any extravagant style or by another expression. It
already follows the fitted composition and form of the rest of the building
design.

Analysis of the current condition of the main facade of the building

 Overall condition of building facade is not in appropriate condition if we


take the measure of the discoloring and the demage of some details on the
building itself.
 The color of the facade has lost its original texture. The disjoint of brown
and greyish colour of the facade is notable on every corner of it.
 The measurement of damage is not high, but it is obvious fact that the
building has survived some small external impact, probably by humans.
 Especially, on vulnerable locations around the windows or locations under
the terraces where the details dominating in its wide diapason, there are a
missing or refuse parts and medium cracks.

~5~

You might also like