December 8 – December 16, 2021
The 5th Balkan Architecture Biennale (BAB) was opened on December 8, 2021, at the “Balkan” cinema. The Biennale features over 350 works by authors from across the Balkan region.
Since its founding, the goal of the Balkan Architecture Biennale has been to bring together and connect prominent authors from related fields of urbanism, architecture, and design from various, yet regionally connected, areas. The purpose of this international event is to showcase and promote examples of good practice while also sparking discussions on key topics of interest to both the industry and the profession.
The theme of the 5th BAB 21 is “Iconic Nomad in the Global Village”. The host country is the Republic of Croatia. The selection of works, authors, and lecturers from Croatia was curated by commissioner Prof. Saša Begović (3LHD).
Works from other countries were selected by commissioners Sonja Radović Jelovac (Montenegro), Igor Kuvač (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mihajlo Zinoski (North Macedonia), Florian Nepravishta (Albania), Ileana Tureanu (Romania), and Ana Kreč (Slovenia).
The “Balkan” cinema once again served as the home for Balkan architects and designers, who showcased their work across five categories: architecture, urbanism, unrealized projects, interior design, and furniture design. As part of this year’s BAB exhibition, works from the International Architectural Competition ArXellence 2 were also displayed. This competition was organized by Alumil in cooperation with the International Union of Architects (UIA) and conducted in close collaboration with the UIA’s ICC Council, following UNESCO standards for architectural competitions.
In addition to the main exhibition, the following accompanying events took place:
- International Scientific Conference Global Village: Shelter for Resilient Living,
- Lectures by Croatian and Serbian architects and designers,
- Exhibition and panel discussion Brutalism in the Balkans – Protection and Reconstruction,
- Exhibition and professional conference Contemporary Housing in Belgrade.
Program of the 5th Balkan Architecture Biennale (BAB)
Day 1 (December 8):
- Grand Opening and Award Ceremony (from 6 PM, “Balkan” Cinema). Along with Saša Begović, the Croatian commissioner, speeches were delivered by Marko Stojčić, Belgrade’s Chief Urban Planner, the national selection commissioners, and representatives of the event organizers.
Day 2 (December 9):
- International Conference (from 10 AM to 5 PM, online)
- Croatian Architects and Designers Day (from 6 PM to 9 PM, “Balkan” Cinema), featuring projects from:
- BIRO
- ONDA ARHITEKTURA
- SKROZ
- ARHIV
Day 3 (December 10):
- International Conference (from 10 AM to 5 PM, online)
- Serbian Architects and Designers Day (from 5 PM to 9 PM, “Balkan” Cinema), with presentations by:
- Danilo Dangubić Architects
- MZ Studio
- MAPA Architects
- Portner Architects
- Teking Architecture
- Synthesis Quatro
- Studio OBE
- Dsignedby
Day 4 (December 11):
- Professional Conference Contemporary Housing in Belgrade (from 12 PM to 5 PM, ICT HUB)
- Panel Discussion Brutalism in the Balkans (from 7 PM to 9 PM, “Balkan” Cinema)
- Film Screenings Concrete Sleepers (from 9 PM, “Balkan” Cinema)
Participants at the Contemporary Housing in Belgrade Conference included:
- Alen Žunić (Albatross)
- Aleksandar Đikanović (Xella Serbia)
- Saša Begović (3LHD)
- Milan Rašković (Cube Partners)
- Branislav Folić (Folić Architects)
- Ratka Antonijević (Baumit)
- Milka Gnjato (Zabriskie)
- Anđela Karabašević Sudžum and Vladislav Sudžum (AKVS)
- Dušica Gaković (Deka Inženjering)
- Nikola Lojanica (Mara Home)
- Aleksandar Gušić (Gušić Architecture)
- Miloš Milivojević (MM Studio)
- Nemanja Kordić and Ema Stojković Jerinić (MART)
Participants in the Brutalism in the Balkans Panel Discussion included:
- Prof. Dr. Maroje Mrduljaš (Faculty of Architecture – University of Zagreb)
- Prof. Mr. Zoran Abadić (Faculty of Architecture – University of Belgrade)
- Irena Ilić (CIP)
- Dr. Vladimir Stevanović (Union University – Nikola Tesla)
- Dr. Bogdan Stojanović (Politecnico di Milano)
Two episodes from the Concrete Sleepers series were screened:
- Socialism Meets Capitalism
- Split Between Plan and Chaos, produced by Hulahop.
Jury of the 5th Balkan Architecture Biennale (BAB)
The international jury was divided into two categories:
Architecture – Realized and Unrealized Projects and Urbanism:
- Ivan Milošević (Montenegro)
- Vedran Jukić (Croatia)
- Ivana Žalac (Croatia)
- Dean Lah (Slovenia)
- Dr. Lorenzo Degli Esposti (Italy)
- Maja Ilić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Aleksandar Saša Zeljić (United States)
- Aleksandar Milojković (Serbia)
- Neboša Antešević (Serbia)
Interior Design and Furniture Design:
- Momčilo Ostojić (Serbia)
- Irena Kilibarda (Serbia)
- Aleksandar Gušić (Serbia)
- Emir Salkić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Zoran Jedrejčić (Croatia/Serbia)
Partners, Support, and Sponsors
In its jubilee year, the 5th Balkan Architecture Biennale was supported by:
- The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia
- Saša Marčeta Foundation
- Serbian Chamber of Commerce
- Association of Serbian Architects
- Association of Architects in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture
- Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka
- Belgrade Society of Architects
- Banja Luka Society of Architects
- City of Belgrade
- City of Banja Luka
- URANIA – Creation Space
This year’s event was also supported by companies including:
- ALUMIL (general sponsor)
- ACO, Baldini Studio, Baumit, Fundermax, hiCAD, JAF, Lafarge, Mara Home, Modularni Podovi, STO, Tara Concept, TeamCAD, TEM, Velux Serbia, Wienerberger, Xella Serbia, ACO Croatia, Saint-Gobain, Laufen, Pana Windows, Velux Croatia, Alukönigstahl, Prefa, and Keim.
Media Partners:
- Gradnja (general media partner)
- Grenef, Kuća Stil, and Radio Television of the Republic of Srpska.
BAB Team
The organization of the 5th BAB was carried out by the Board of Directors:
- Marko Stojanović, Tatjana Mrđenović, Nebojša Glišić, Jelena Nikolić, Dragan Marković, Milena Ivanović, Irena Ilić, Zorana Zlatojević, and Đorđe Mandrapa, with the help of volunteers: Tamara Lovrić, Una Lolić, Slađana Mirčić, Srđan Lakić, Stefan Bajić, and Sanja Mikić.