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VIJEĆNICA
subject_reconversion of brownfields
academic year_2022/2023
date_november 2022
student_nudžeina kapetanović

SARAJEVO / BIH

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INTRODUCTION
The City Hall was solemnly opened April 20, 1896, used for
governing and administrative purposes. After the Second World
War City Hall was put on disposal to the National Library and
remains in that function until the aggression against BiH. In the
night between August 25 and 26, 1992, City hall was hit by
flammable artillery missiles. The fire destroys the City Hall,
together with the huge library fund of the National-University
Library of about 2 million units. The renovation of the City Hall
starts in 1996 and lasts until 2014, and the complete
reconstruction has been done according to the original
documentation.

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LOCATION

near the city center and

famouse historical center of
Sarajevo named Baščaršija
near the main river Miljacka
surranded by
administrative buildings

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HISTORY
On April 20, 1896, the City Hall in Sarajevo was opened. The
town hall is located not far from Baščaršija on Mustaj Pasha's
Maidan and is the most beautiful and representative building
from the Austro-Hungarian period built in the pseudo-
Moorish style. It is interesting that most of the buildings that
were built in Sarajevo during the Austro-Hungarian rule were
made in this style, so we can say that the City Hall is
synonymous with the Austro-Hungarian period in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and a trademark of that time.
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As for the construction itself, the first project was done by
Karlo Paržik, but the then minister Benjamin Kalaj did not like
this one, so the construction of the new one was entrusted to
Alexander Wittek. The mosque of Kemal II served as a model
for this project, which is why he went to Cairo twice. As Wittek
allegedly became mentally ill and committed suicide precisely
because of this project (insufficient lighting in the main hall of
the building), the completion of his project was entrusted to
Ćiril M. Iveković in 1894. Along with the design and
elaboration of the project, the construction of the building
continued from 1892 to 1894. The City Hall building was
officially handed over for use in 1896.
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VIJEĆNICA IN
THE WAR
As for its function, the Town Hall originally represented the
building of the then city administration and the city
administration of Sarajevo. After the Second World War, until
1949, the Town Hall served the city administration, as the
building of the District Court of Sarajevo and the seat of the
Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After that, the City Hall
became the City Library, that is, the National and University
Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the aggression against Sarajevo (from 1992-95), the

City Hall was repeatedly shelled by the JNA and VRS. On
August 25 to 26, 1992, the City Hall building was set on fire,
and the Catalog of the National and University Library of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, about 80% of the book collection
and documents testifying to the history of Bosnia and
Herzegovina disappeared in the fire. The interior of the Town
Hall was almost completely destroyed in the fire that followed
the shelling.

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CONCEPTUAL
Available in the sense of the City Hall
structure, it contains three basic
functional units:
1. the premises of the city
administration,
2. other workshops
3. spaces of common public facilities
(central hall, museum, energy block
and catering).
DESIGN
With the respect of the existing structure
and the predetermined disposition of the
object made by an equilateral triangle
with three towers, six-storey classrooms
in the middle and other limitations
stemming from the cultural-historical
significance of the facility, the
multifunctional facilities in the building
enabled autonomous and comfortable
functioning.
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Existing Entrances to the Town Hall
provide separate entrance from the
employees of Brodac Street and the main
entrance from the Kulina Ban street is
provided for visitors while the existing
door to Telali Street served as a
necessary exit for occasional building of
the facility. A separate entrance to the
basement from Telali and Brodac streets
is the function of an external approach
for cafe-restaurant guests. In addition to
the existing separate staircases, the new
elevators with capacity for 8 persons
were designed with the reconstructed
sanitary node on the floors.
The occupancy of floor area occupants is
due to the built-in capacities of the
adjacent stairs and elevators, designed
according to their specificities and
functional-technological units.
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CONCEPTS/FLOOR PLANS

basment 1 floor 2 floor

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RECONSTRUCTION

01
STAGE OF RECONSTRUCTION

In 1996, the Government of the Republic of Austria donated DM 1.500,000 for initial works on the
reconstruction of the City Hall in Sarajevo. The money should have been realized for the most subtle
works that were to save the structure that survived. Apart from the destruction of the war, the City
Hall permanently continued to perish as the four winters of war contributed to the further
destruction of the opaque walls of the attic, the hallway, the steel construction of the dome, and
especially the walls of the ground floor, which continually pumped water out of the huge amount of
ruined and decomposed material found on the ground floor (average height of 1.00-1.50 m).

it was decided to use the same constructive system in the process of reconstruction, and solutions
are defined by satisfying the primary task of rescuing the object through the following phases:
A - stabilization of constructive masonry structures,
B - reconstruction of roofs with the execution of a lightning rod installation,
C - renovation of a steel dome and a lowered ceiling with restoration of a glass cover,
D - Acceptance of heavily damaged construction by massive supporting scaffolding.

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01
STAGE OF RECONSTRUCTION
A - At the level of ceiling wooden structures, steel brackets at a distance of 3.50 - 3.80m were
connected by steel diagonal, creating horizontal hinges which at this stage should create conditions
for the renovation of the ceiling walls and the reconstruction of the roof.
B - According to the available architectural documentation, all wooden roofs with light bulb
installation are designed and executed. Most of the opaque structures of the ceilings were
renovated as part of the original chimneys. The original drainage system of rainwater was installed,
through open roof channels that were accepted in three existing verticals.
C - The review of the steel structure and the results of the steel structure of the City Hall found that
steel is of satisfactory quality construction, because the cross sections are well dimensioned. The
overall structure is attacked by the corrosion process. About 20% of the structure was deformed by
fire and certain parts had lost their static geometry. All the damaged parts were replaced, the
connections were made through the rivet as in the original construction, and the overall structure
with the sandblasted ceiling up to Sa 2,5 and anticorrosive in four layers of 120 microns thick.
Armored glass as a cover has been updated with the use of special holders that prevent slipping, as
it happened before. The corners on the upright towers and the central dome are designed and
constructed.
D-Reactioned steel construction and lowered ceilings, on one side, rely on the edging walls and the
structure of the classroom which is part of the structure that has suffered the greatest damage. A
heavy steel carrying deck with special massive wooden straps was designed and constructed,
Presentation making the classroom design acceptable. This performance prevented damage to the dome-made
Design work and also created the conditions for restoring the structure of the classroom.
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A
A - stabilization of
constructive masonry
structures,
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B
B - reconstruction of
roofs with the
execution of a
lightning rod
installation,

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C
C - renovation of a
steel dome and a
lowered ceiling with
restoration of a glass
cover,

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D
D - Acceptance of
heavily damaged
construction by
massive supporting
scaffolding.

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02
STAGE OF RECONSTRUCTION

The European Commission appeared in 1999 as an investor and provided funds to be used for the
continuation of works (DEM 4,500,000). The Consultant (D.D. DOM Study, Design, Engineering,
Sarajevo) proposed to continue the works on the reconstruction of horizontal constructions, as well
as the reconstruction of AULA, whose hard-damaged construction was looking for emergency work.
The gypsum decoration is largely destroyed, and the fragments that have been preserved will be
dismantled, ie, some parts will be taken in the plaster at 1: 1 scale. The painted decoration, which is
also fragmentarily preserved in small domes and arches, will be crossed at a scale of 1: 1 with the
indication of the color and color quality.
In the hall were used 10 types of stone, different technical characteristics and different aesthetic and
visual appearance. Insufficient historical data on the sites and the location of the stone used for the
construction of the City Hall, especially AULA (unsafe data refer to granite pillars supplied from
Austria, marble stairs from Hungary and others).
Because of the high level of damage, most of the pillars (of the corner and free-standing) on the
ground floor and first floor were replaced, together with supporting arches on the ground floor
(fields 1, 2, 4 and 6). The two fields (3 and 5) have been completely restored with harsh and opaque
structures.

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02
STAGE OF
RECONSTRUCTION

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THE MAIN
PROJECT OF
RECONSTRUCTI
ON
The basis for the design of the main architectural
reconstruction project was the documentation of the works
performed from 1996 to 2004 and the preliminary
investigations from 1995 to 2006, copies of the original
documentation as well as photo and video documentation
prior to the destruction.
Based on the available documentation related to the works of
the first and second phase of reconstruction, as well as the
available documentation of the Sarajevo archives, the level of
repair of major damage to the building was determined.
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With a detailed recording of the existing disposition and
destroyed constructive and decorative elements in the
building, a project of the existing condition was made and
identified damage to walls and ceilings were made in drafts of
the present state of the project. An additional geotechnical
study of foundations in the basement was carried out as well
as the state of the floor structure on the ground floor. On the
existing wells - piezometers set up in 2006, during the design
of the project documentation, groundwater measurement
was carried out, which according to the measurement results
is located at -3.00m below the basement floor, and during the
eight month measurement period there was no oscillation.
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DETAILS

01 Stone-cutting works on the building of

the City Hall set special requirements in
terms of procurement, selection,
processing and installation of stone
items.
In this sense, the existing stone was
examined according to the positions of
the installation. The test was carried out
by the Institute for Materials and
Structures of the Faculty of Civil
Engineering in Sarajevo. The given
characteristic data for the stone give all
relevant data for the procurement and
selection of a particular stone type.

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All interior and exterior joinery is an

02
outstanding work in oak. Other auxiliary
facilities, as well as offices were treated
modestly without decoration and stucco.
The end of this concept is given on a rich
façade, painted in two-tiered terraces,
mortar stucco and decorative elements
made of earthenware. As a starting
point, this original concept and its
materialization were accepted by the
reconstruction project.

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FACADES

03 The facade of the City Hall is made in a

Neo-Moorish style with rich architectural
stucco with plastering and has many
decorative elements of stone,
earthenware and terracotta. In the
previous period, before the war, it was
partially renewed several times.
According to the project task, the
reconstruction project - restoration and
reconstruction of the facade was done
on the basis of a detailed
photogrammetric image of the existing
facade, conducted research conservation
works and available graphic and photo
documentation of the facade appearance
before the destruction.
The three façades described in the
project task and the three towers on the
corners form the total facade of the
building.

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PLASTER DECORATION IN THE INTERIOR

Painting and plaster decoration of the
City Hall is a significant element of its
identity. Its values stem from specific
circumstances in BiH at the end of the
19th century, which resulted in a neo-
Moorish style in the field of culture and
politics of the then government. The hall
is in its entirety - by function,
architectural design and decoration,
perhaps the best example of this style. At
the same time, the Hall is an example of
romanticism and historicism, the
phenomena that affected the European
art of the second half of the 19th
century. No less important is its image

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and existence in the awareness of the
citizens of Sarajevo, and those who visit
Sarajevo at least once. Painting and
plaster decoration was developed in the
interior and on the facades of the City
Hall. Painting and plaster in the interior
were destroyed mostly by fire caused by
inflammable grenades from aggressor
positions around Sarajevo. Only the
fragments that were recorded and which
are elements for restoration and
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THE END

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