A retrospective look at BINU: A proposal for a possible future

One of the programs of this year's Belgrade International Week of Architecture (BINA) is an exhibition entitled - Public architecture, announces her theme. At the same time, given that twenty years ago the first manifestation of BINA was an invitation Belgraders to get as close as possible to the architecture, this exhibition both reminds and rounds off that theme.

Authors of the exhibition Public architecture Milena Kordić and Andrej Dolinka remind for "Vreme" that "Rem Koolhaas' statement about architecture as the most public of the arts stands as an epigraph in the text accompanying this exhibition." They explain that "the phrase 'the public of architecture' can be labeled as a pleonasm."

"Our exhibition particularly emphasizes the issue of criticism in architecture as an extremely important factor in its publicness. The vacated area of ​​traditional architectural criticism was largely filled by social movements that deal with various political aspects of architecture and urbanism. The issue of the publicity of architecture is a question of public investment as well as public participation in decision-making about it. Finally, architecture, since it is everywhere around us and accessible to all of us, cannot be deprived of public interest but also of responsibility towards the public," say the authors of the exhibition.

Good life

What is the social responsibility of architecture in today's practice? Kordić and Dolinka believe that "it would be good if the question of social responsibility was raised by society instead of its assumptions being proclaimed in places of economic and political power. The issue of the positioning of architects and urban planners in relation to various factors in the social field is also important. It should be borne in mind that the circumstances in which architecture is created and the society for which architects work responsibly will sooner or later change. Of course, with the active participation of all factors in that field. It was important for us to point out with this exhibition that we must be aware of these relationships, that they must be made aware and all participants in the process must take responsibility for them."

Photo: Promo

One of the last topics of BINA was Good (urban) life. Evaluating the current urban life in the capital, Kordić and Dolinka say that "for the majority, Belgrade today is a place of deregulated growth in accordance with the demands of capital in which life grows and the impossibility of reproduction; it is also a place of dismantling, either in the form of demolition and destruction of the architectural and urban heritage, again with ignoring and violating regulations, or in the form of leaving the substance of the city to decay in a tendentious refusal to maintain it."

"Belgrade is a place that progressively revokes its residents' right to move (with free public transport!), reducing the impact of heat, the right to clean air and drinking water, the right to a view and an authentic city panorama. On the other hand, there is still an opportunity to preserve the authentic parts of the city and nature in the city and develop it further towards layered landscapes accessible to everyone."

Retrospective view

The special feature of this exhibition, which marks the 20th anniversary of BINA, is precisely the way in which this retrospective view was realized: a proposal for a possible future.

Namely, one part of the exhibition is dedicated, the authors explain, to "thinking about the possibility of forming a Center for Architecture as a place and institution that would continuously deal with documentation, research and exhibition in that area, meeting architects and the general public. As one of the possible bases of accumulated knowledge for inclusion in such a Center, the archive of BINA and the activation of documentation of various program units and manifestations in the functions of research, education, exposition and social initiatives are being considered."

The center would also imply the activation of criticism. "In the current social circumstances, the criticism of architecture is very necessary, because in a general sense, it implies the analysis, interpretation and understanding of a work of art", say the authors and emphasize that it is important that "someone who is not from our discipline, who is not trained to interpret and dismantle the hidden or collateral meanings of the built environment, understands what architecture brings to him. will preserve it, and if it preserves it - it will enable future generations to better understand the context in which they live and therefore themselves and their own identities."

Criticism has changed form.

They consider that "criticism of architecture exists today, but it has changed its form and channels of movement, so it can seem as if it has disappeared to an audience with certain media and technological expectations", and draw attention to the fact that "there has also been a pronounced stratification in the reflection of architecture - as if architects, urban planners, theorists and historians have been relegated to the ban of the academy, while on the other hand, atomized individuals, whether enthusiasts, self-interested or humorists, are active in the online media."

"It seems as if it is necessary to provide a place for the continuous (physical) meeting of all the mentioned categories and the general public. This way, criticism of architecture from the corridors, professional circles and from social media may reach another kind of public", say Milena Kordić and Andrej Dolinka.