After the expiry of the status of previous protection, despite public pressure, the institutions did not take any action, says the former chief architect of Belgrade Đorđe Bobić, with the assessment that those buildings have become hunting grounds for investors.
What is happening in Belgrade's Slavia, where I mean the entire existing environment, is only a consequence of the way the government manipulates the city, since capital has become the city's main urban planner, former chief architect of Belgrade Đorđe Bobić told FoNet.
A few days ago, due to the construction of the "King's Circles" facility, the buildings between Slavija Square and Manjež Park were demolished, including the old and new Civic Savings Bank buildings.
"Until 2020, these objects were in the status of previous protection, which means that something is marked and that it is necessary to prove that they are cultural assets within a certain period of time, after which it goes to the Government of Serbia, which adopts it," Bobić said.
After the expiry of the previous protection status, despite public pressure, the institutions did not take any action, said Bobić, adding that those buildings have become hunting grounds for investors.
"In Belgrade, in the past five years, several dozen buildings similar to savings banks have been demolished in order to build some five-story buildings, and that is generally not a good thing," said Bobić.
According to him, the Urban Institute and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments have become a service of the city government, neglecting professional ethics.
"At the same time, the city government is in agreement with the investors." It's about the dominance of capital, which has become the city's chief urban planner," said Bobić.
He added that Belgrade is ruled by a force whose sole interest is to earn a large amount of money.
"In order to achieve this, the resources are not considered - the cultural heritage of the city is destroyed, the infrastructure is not renewed, the greenery is reduced. As a result, you get a city that is completely alien to the citizens," stated Bobić.
Photo: FoNet
Full professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Eva Vaništa Lazarević, told FoNet that the situation in Slavija is a precedent and that profit has come before cultural heritage.
"What is important is that profit comes first, before the law." We have great investors, who are very skillful and this is not only the case in Serbia", said Eva Vaništa Lazarevic.
According to her, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments is a slow institution, which allowed the buildings to fall into the hands of investors after the protection expired.
For someone watching from the sidelines, it seems that the Institute is letting these protections somehow stop and they don't continue anymore, said Eva Vaništa Lazarevic.
She assessed that there were solutions that could have been taken in order to prevent the demolition of those buildings, such as an extension to the newly built complex.
"Obviously, no one wanted to deal with that problem and the goal was to raze the buildings to the ground," said Eva Vaništa Lazarevic.
BG/FoNet
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