Undergraduate and graduate programmes offered by the University iuav of Venice:

“HERSUS Prize on Modern Heritage” alla tesi di uno studente Iuav

 

La tesi di Laurea Magistrale del corso Iuav in inglese “BIGZ: Participatory Heritage Management” di Peter Covell (relatrice Emanuela Sorbo, correlatrice Ana Nikezić) ha ottenuto il primo premio ex-equo per la categoria Education - Students nel contesto dell'HERSUS Prize on Modern Heritage.

Il progetto è stato premiato l’11 Maggio 2023 presso il Salón de Actos della ETSA di Siviglia in occasione del quinto meeting internazionale del progetto HERSUS.

 

I progetti premiati sono esposti in una mostra itinerante internazionale iniziata presso ETSA di Siviglia e saranno consultabili online sulla Hersus Sharing Platform.

 

BIGZ: Participatory Heritage Management >> 

 

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Brief description of the thesis:

The State Printing House was completed in 1941 as a new monumental headquarters of the BIGZ publishing company. In 1992 the building was recognised as a cultural monument and protected for its architectural merit and connection with early Yugoslav industry. When political and economic transition caused printing works to grind to a halt, the light-filled, adaptable interior spaces attracted small businesses, artists and musicians from across the city.

2022 finds BIGZ a conflicted heritage asset. The surrounding post industrial landscape has become attractive for development, bringing potential for investment in the decaying façades while throwing into question the continuation of it’s cultural function. Confronted with this critical moment, the thesis questions the existing value judgement, highlighting the significant cultural value that exists in the synergy of social interaction and innovative activity of the informal cultural centre.

Dragiša Brašovan, the ‘style master’ of pre-war Yugoslav Architecture created an interplay of volumes and fenestration that identified to the functions within. When creative entrepreneurs moved in, they occupied the smaller cellular office spaces and assumed the role of building administrators, gathering in the circulation spaces. In attributing value to the façades, the 40,000 square meters of functional space behind them entered a transient period as the building awaited investment, creating conditions for short-term experimental occupation.

Adaptability of the concrete frame is considered an inherent strength, capable of overcoming the maintenance costs associated with the building’s scale by entering into a circular economy. The project employs existing social capital as the nucleus of future regenerations. A community maker-space facilitates adaptations and the wider city population is engaged via a communicative facade and public events space.