Hi all,

I will be traveling through the Balkan region this summer by train. I was hoping to solicit some hints about good architecture in the area.

My itinerary is as follows:

Vienna - Austria
Budapest - Hungary
Bukarest - Romania
Soffia - Bulgaria
Skopje - Macedonia
Pristina - Kosovo
Kotor - Montenegro
Sarajevo - Bosnia-Herzegovina
Ljubljana - Slovenia
Venice - Italy
Chur - Switzerland
..where I will rent a car and then drive through the alps to Basel and fly out.

It has been easier to locate good architecture in Switzerland, Austria and Italy but I do appreciate any suggestions so that I won't miss anything.

I'll be posting the pictures this fall so ya'll can look forward to that :D

www.nextroom.at has been invaluable in locating good architecture

so has

A10 magazine and Detail.

and

Galinsky.com (but only for "west" europe)

Other resources are appreciated.

I'll be checking out

XXS house by Dekleva Gregorič
I'll post the KMZ that I have got but be warned it isn't precise it's only in the ballpark.

other houses I have found in Slovenia which look interesting are:
The New Public Library - by A.Biro in Grosuplje
Tus Shopping Center - by Marjan Zupanc in Celje
Hotel Sotelia - by ENOTA in Podcetrtek

and a few houses by Bevk and Perovic
Dutch embassy residence
Subsidized housing
House SB in Ljubljana
and the Faculty of Mathematics

I'll post interesting architecture as I find it, but I have precious little time so any help is welcome (we decided to alter our plan from biking through Germany to this only earlier this week).
More soon..

Kenzo Tange´s masterplan for the new city of Skopje. Was to be the model city for the Socialist World, luckily the plan was never fully carried out. Could be very interesting to see the buildings that were built (like the railwaystation) but it´s really hard to find out which buildings were built.

among the many international architects that participated in its reconstruction was the Japanese urban planner Kenzo Tanga, who gave the center a "city wall" of high-rise buildings, while the banks of the Vardar were laid out as pleasant tree-lined promenades."

Hi all,

I will be traveling through the Balkan region this summer by train. I was hoping to solicit some hints about good architecture in the area.

My itinerary is as follows:
....

Sarajevo - Serbia-Herzegovina



Hi Kristov, I think its Bosnia-Herzegovina, they might get a little tetchy down in Sarajevo if you start calling it that ;)

It sounds like a fantastic trip, I only managed a few of those places when i went last year, its very easy to get sidetracked.
I can't offer much help with architecture there specifically, Budapest and Bosnia were both incredible for very different reasons as I'm sure you'll see. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your photos!

Thanks Lewisuk,

I made the same typo at the Skyscraper forum, they weren´t to happy about it. :D

Sadar Vuga Architects seem to be making some interesting architecture in Slovenia (I always come back to Slovenia when I try to find new Eastern European architecture, seems like there isn´t much going on elsewhere)

I´ll definitely be seeing their competition winning entry for the Chamber of Commerce in Ljubljana.

Here´s the KMZ and a description from the architects website:

Project attempts explicitly to do away with any barriers between the public, semi-public and private features which are all present in this hybrid design.

By retaining the huge public forecourt, the programme along the existing building is verticalized, thus giving it a new façade, designed like boxes piled on top of each other.
Fitted between the two fronts, as if the public forecourt had been suddenly straightened, is a vertical hall, espousing the principle of continuity and interaction between the two parts of the programme.

Sadar Vuga base their design philosophy around "forumlas (http://www.sadarvuga.com/php/formulas.php)" interesting to read through.

Found this resource (http://www.anuala.ro/), only in romanian though but has all the information one would need for architecture in Bukarest.

What I have done is look at the pictures and find buildings that "look" interesting (architecture porn) and then find their location using this service (http://www.bucuresti.com.ro/www/)

Concerning Slovenia, these two links might be of use to you:
http://www.arhitekturni-vodnik.org/en/ (general review)
http://www.evidenca.org/ (modern architecture 1945-70)

If you're not interested in just the latest, look for these (to keep the list very short): Tomažič (functionalist villas), Kristl, Mihelič, Sever, Bonča (60's modernism) and especially Plečnik and Ravnikar (the two foundations of the slovenian architecture school).
I'm a little short on time right now, maybe I could write a better tour later.
You plan on visiting just Ljubljana or other cities too?

Cheers

Thanks for the links Flatfoot, I'll check them out.

My itinerary is in my first post (although it may change a bit), in Slovenia I think I may take a trip out to see Tus Shopping Center and Hotel Sotelia.

Hi Kristov.
Speaking about Slovenia, you might want to check 2G n.38 about Ofis arhitekti (http://www.ggili.com/2g.cfm?idpublicacion=993) and their website (http://www.ofis-a.si/) for some hints.
Also check the El Croquis 114 (II) about Njiric + Njiric (http://www.elcroquis.es/MagazineDetail.aspx?magazinesId=47&lang=en), a firm from Croatia. Unfortunately their website (http://www.njiric.com/) won't be a great help since it's currntly under construction. Nevertheless, it has contact info and some bibliography info too...

Good luck!

Not 2 much 2 see in Sofia Bulgaria IMHO. Check the forum there was a thread on bulgarian architecture hinting some places to see. Will recommend Plovdiv and Turnovo .

In Venice you might want to look for some of Cino Zucchi's buildings... Check his website (http://www.zucchiarchitetti.com/home.html) for information.

some info about Montenegro. First :) Rolling Stones will have concert (09 July 2007) near Kotor ! and photos of Kotor you can see at http://www.photo-montenegro.com/gallery/Kotor/All/

...and the Nordic Nations Pavillion at the Venice Biennale by Sverre Fehn (although judging from your flag this one must be known to you).
Archinform link (http://eng.archinform.net/projekte/6491.htm)

Too bad you're not visiting Croatia.

About others, only thing i can come up with at this moment (if you'll have time for historical buildings too) is the Alexander Nevsky cathedral in Sofia

Kristov, just curious if you don't mind sharing... how much will it cost for a trip like that? I would love to do something like that someday. And how long will it take you to go to all your destinations.

Great thanks. Balkan rocks.Balkan architecture is very intersting, in mind because of European Union extension too.Art and architecture from SouthEast-East Europe is coming... Balkanika-music (super!) rocks too.:rock on:

Thanks Void for the excellent suggestions, checked out those links, looks really good and that Zucchi house is now on my to-do list :D
Yes I am quite well aware of Sverre Fehn and the Pavillion, I broke into it last time I was in Venice, it was locked the first time I was there and when it was locked the second time I was there I bought a screwdriver and took one of the panels off.

Cost you say? Never thought much about that :D An interrail (http://www.interrailnet.com/2_buy_now.html)ticket will set you back 239 EUR (for my itinerary) but being an US citizen (all non EU) you'll have to buy an Eurail pass (http://www.railpass.com/new/passes/pass/eurailpass.asp). Accommodation is around 20 EUR per night. And the rest is up to you with partying, food, alcohol (which is cheap in E-Europe) and getting to and from the buildings you wanna see.
I have set aside 3000 USD for this trip for me, my girlfriend and our 9 months old.
But be warned we have found out that trains run extremly slowly down in East Europe (our guess is that the stop frequently and that there are no "high-speed" trains" like up here). We e.g. have not found a train running between Sofia in Bulgaria and Skopje in Macedonia that covers the distance (of 250 km roughly) in less than 10 hours. So we might change our plan and take a rented car instead (they cost about the same as the train tickets for the both of us but we'll have to pay the gas, more freedom though).
In regards to time, I won't be doing a 100 city dash like Kevin, I'll stay for a couple of days in each town so the whole trip i around a month with far less cities and buildings than Kevin usually covers. (see Kevin's threads about his travels in Europe).
Hope this helps.

Just a hint: keep your wallet close. ;)
Pickpocketing tourists is not uncommon in the east balkans.

Yep , and friendly fellows offering money exchange on the streets of Sofia should be avoided as well. The taxi drivers are happy to charge u 5 to 10 times more if they find out u are a foreigner so check the cost per km on a sticker on the windshield of the car. If u use public transport buy a ticket from the kiosks on the bus stops or from a news agents. Otherwise there some stupid fines that are quite embarrassing. The centre of the city has a predominant Stalinist character, though there some interesting buildings in a vienese kind of decoration from the begining of the 20th cent. DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO THE BEGGARS they are a well organized gang and are not poor at all!!!!
The food is relatively cheap , drinks too.

kristov the trains are the most beautiful thing about eastern europe, they may roll slow but they're cheap and have character. it costs 160 US for a sleeper for 3 in croatia from zagreb to split and you get a little bag with toiletries, its far better than any hotel room. bring a bottle of red and open those big old windows, it really is travelling its best. you don't want to be going on a plane with no wings, its not travelling its just transportation and adds nothing to the experience.