Lessons From The Past – Post-Earthquake Artefacts of Solidarity
Tamara Koneska
https://doi.org/10.60152/0kqqibig
Abstract: After the devastating earthquake of 1963, Skopje embarked on a new path of development, one that, in terms of morphology and scale, did not align with its previous urban matrix. The natural disaster created an urgent need but also an opportunity to reshape the city’s image. The reconstruction of Skopje was planned and executed in a way that, at the time, represented a kind of precedent in Yugoslav and global planning and architectural practice. It occurred at a specific historical moment, leading historians to believe that it ultimately played a significant role in preventing an entirely different kind of catastrophe on a global scale. It emerged as both a necessity and a confirmation of the universality of the challenges of city reconstruction, urban development planning, and the design of their future physiognomies. Croatian architectural critic Maroje Mrduljaš stated that Skopje became a hub of architectural experimentation following the earthquake, with the participation of numerous architects from around the world and the former Yugoslavia, united by the innovative vision of a new city center designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. “At that time, Skopje was indeed a large urban and architectural experiment, certainly progressive,” he said. Simultaneously, while the reconstruction process itself was based on a top-down approach typical of communist regimes at the time, authorities took into account all social and cultural issues with a pragmatic approach to social integration and transformation. Although significant donations and massive investments, with substantial assistance from the United Nations and 90 countries worldwide, were collected over 25 years following the earthquake, the center of Skopje was never entirely completed. Tange’s plan was not realized and implemented, most likely due to a discrepancy between bold, postmodernist aspirations and local (in)feasibilities, primarily due to a lack of resources. However, when carefully examining the process of urban and architectural planning at that time, can we assume that all of this happened during a crisis in utopian architecture and urbanism, a crisis that influenced the current outcome of planning and the city’s appearance? Is there a better confirmation of this crisis than the existence of four different urban paradigms in eight competition entries in the international competition of 1965? With all its shortcomings, the Skopje reconstruction plan was an experiment that bolstered the city’s urban identity on the world stage, as well as its functional aspects. It belongs to a period in architectural history when the city and architecture within it were still perceived as a “collective endeavour” and a “public matter,” as well as an essential tool for societal and cultural advancement; a time of grand projects and unrealized utopias. Despite everything, the fact remains that, despite possible geopolitical motives behind the mobilization of various nations worldwide, the city became the backdrop for an act of universal solidarity and symbolized global unity.
Keywords: collective memory, City of Solidarity, Yugoslavia, Skopje, post-earthquake reconstruction
How to cite this Paper (Harvard referencing style):
Koneska, T. (2024) ‘Lessons From The Past – Post-Earthquake Artefacts of Solidarity’, in R. Bogdanović (ed.) On Architecture — Shaping the City through Architecture, Proceedings. Belgrade, Serbia: STRAND, pp. 27–35.