SASA appeals to Parliament to withdraw decision to revoke status of cultural property from General Staff building

Members of the Department of Arts of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) assesses that the decision to revoke the status of cultural property from the General Staff building in Belgrade represents a “serious blow” to cultural values and appeals to the Parliament of Serbia to reconsider and withdraw the decision.

– A decision of this type can have permanent and irreparable consequences for the cultural identity of Belgrade and the contemporary architecture of Serbia. Such an approach undermines trust in the system of protection of cultural property and calls into question the responsibility of public decision-makers – reads a statement from the SASA.

They add that this decision ignores the professional views of architects, artists and institutions that care about national tradition, while at the same time violating the principles and current regulations on the protection of cultural heritage. This decision, as stated, raises the issue of identity, historical heritage, self-respect, military and national tradition, but also the memory of the “vandal act of NATO aggression.”

– We oppose the trivialization, belittling and misinterpretation of the role of architect Nikola Dobrovic in the architecture and urban planning of the second half of the 20th century. Attempts to marginalize his role and personality are an attempt to relativize the indisputable values of his work, in order to subsequently justify the act of demolishing this exceptional architectural complex – the statement reads, as reported by Beta.

Architect Nikola Dobrovic was, as the statement says, a distinguished member of the SASA and an honorary member of the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), a distinguished professor at the Faculty of Architecture and an indisputable authority in the field of architecture, urban planning, theoretical and pedagogical work.

– Unfortunately, the same fate awaits the complex of buildings of the Seventh Regiment Barracks by architect Dragutin Djordjevic, a member of the Serbian Royal Academy, which has been declared an immovable cultural asset - a cultural monument – the statement reads.

On November 7, members of the Serbian Parliament adopted a lex specialis for the General Staff building, namely the Bill on Special Procedures for the Implementation of the Revitalization and Development Project for the Location in Belgrade between Kneza Milosa, Masarikova, Bircaninova and Resavska Streets.

SANU Beograd

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

SASA

Department of Arts of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Seventh Regiment Barracks

Dragutin Đorđević

Nikola Dobrović

General Staff building at the corner of Nemanjina and Kneza Miloša streets

demolition of General Staff building

revocation of the status of cultural property from the General Staff building in Belgrade