The role of an architect is to see things that others do not see, to foresee developments and trends that have an impact on society and his professional work. It must be guided by the public and general interest, because our projects influence the development of the community
One of our most awarded architects, the founder and owner of Studio Mapa, speaks to CorD Magazine about the state of the building industry and profession, about the challenges faced by every designer, every creative person, and about relations with investors.
During your successful career, you’ve worked on large commercial business buildings, but also on residential villas and luxury houses. What do you enjoy more?
The job of an architect is demanding and multidisciplinary, you have to have diverse knowledge and look at the programming task from many aspects. When you work on large projects, complexes or public or commercial facilities, the focus is on deadlines, values, resources, evaluation of the relationship of all parameters and the wider urban, architectural and social context, all kinds of influences.
Commercial projects often do not provide a lot of space for trials, analysis or looking back, while private investment is special, because here emotion is important and somehow comes before everything else. Each villa or house is unique in itself, there is no repetition of either concept or design. Every investor has his own particularities, wishes and expectations, and so does the designer with the challenge of responding to the new task with quality and originality..
Business or private, the important thing is the challenge, the theme and desire to achieve a good architectural response in an environment that provides users with comfort, and consumers with an unencumbered and refined space.
Before opening the MAPA Studio, you were the director of architecture and design management in the development and project management work of Delta Holding. How much does that corporate experience mean to you today?
Through many years of work in the corporation, I have gone through some great exercises. This included efforts to colour all that is corporate and standard with an attitude towards architecture, the building, the project; not necessarily with a personal stamp, but with a shift that can be achieved and recognized at all levels of the development of a project. That experience means a lot to me, because I learned the relationships of the participants in the project, since I was on all sides. Today, it helps me to fully understand interests and expectations, and to properly dose myself emotionally with complete focus on processes.
You try to approach each task with full commitment, unencumbered by previous experience and projects. Is it possible to avoid a client’s influence?
I try to find the right measure, from the relationship to the context, the initial idea, the client’s expectations and all standards. The balance of all aspects and participants in the design is almost the most important for the success of the project. I think that the influence of clients and the desire to participate is the greatest with villas, because they are building their own home. I approach such projects, which have been “cooking” for a long time with the awareness that I should listen to the needs of the investor and channel the idea so that the result is good. This balancing act during the design between us and the client is something one of our investors calls ‘plusing’, as an upgrading of the creative process in the creative industries.
There is building going on all around, there is a lot of business but not enough work force. Does this mean that the situation in the construction industry is better than ever, or that we will be paying for the sin of unplanned urban development?
The state of the construction industry has been excellent in recent years, which is not necessarily related to the quality of what is produced, designed and built. The explosive growth of the industry was made possible by re-industrialisation, the arrival of foreign institutions and opening of investment to all interested parties. The industry itself was not ready for all the challenges, so it allowed some of its workers to leave. Now we import labour, but this has not reduced productivity.
Architecture must and should have a theme, an essence, something measurable, not just an expression of the moment or trend
Investors expect a quick return on investment, they want to take advantage of the moment. This certainly means that everyone in the chain must be fast enough, but that speed does not give complete results. There is no time for reflection, involvement of the wider community and interested parties, so micro-planning often opens up macro-level problems. Restricted by investors’ budgets and earnings, our profession does not have time, nor is it respected enough to take reasonable steps in the general interest, which is often forgotten, and the consequences are not subsequently corrected.
To what extent does the fight against investor urbanism depend on restoring dignity and respect to architecture and architects?
The space is the message! A space once built is an exhausted resource. The role of architects is to see things that others do not see, to foresee developments and trends that have an impact on society. In our professional activities, we must be guided by the principle of the public and general interest. That is why focus and control of any activity in the space is important. Architecture must and should have a theme, an essence, something measurable, not just an expression of the moment or trend. By projecting moves and complexes, we greatly influence the development of the community and the feeling of people in the space, looking equally towards users and consumers.
In the process of the integrated development of investment, the role of architects is multifaceted, as creators and as producers of technical documentation, so we can observe our status from several aspects. Also through our status in society, the status of an artist, the status of a creator… Architecture has long been seen as a service for quick construction for the sake of maximising the built surface area, making it expressive at first glance, without time for dedication and innovation, although in recent years the situation has improved, but the architect and architecture are still not in our proper place.
Which of your many projects could you single out as special?
My most important project is a home for developmentally disabled children, an building that was designed with a lot of care and emotion, without the standards that follow modern inclusion, which makes it demanding. With this building, I set new standards in the design of facilities for specialised purposes for people with disabilities. The Mind Office Park gave new freedom in the approach to design, which resulted in a space that excites and moves you, but I am most emotional about villas, which in the modern world are partly eclipsed by multifunctional luxury complexes. I am currently working on a residential project that preoccupies me, and which has had the greatest synthesis in the process with the users, and I am looking forward to its finalisation.
You are one of the best and most awarded architects in Serbia. We assume that you don’t count the accolades anymore, but can you at least list the most significant ones…
The greatest reward is a new opportunity. I am grateful for all the opportunities I have received so far thanks to my dedication and the dedication of my team. I believe that we have made excellent results that will open up new opportunities. The most important awards are those awarded by our professional associations and societies of architects and artists: Grand prix 39. The Architecture Salon, the Museum of Applied Art; Award of the City of Belgrade; the Aleksej Brkić annual award of the Association of Architects of Serbia; the Grand Prix of ULUPUDS, the Aleksandar Šaletić Fund Award; the 54th May exhibition of ULUPUDS; the award of the company Novosti…