Life under a canopy

Citizens of Serbia and the whole of our world "find" the meaning of life in construction projects, that is, in square meters of real estate that often remain, at least for the most part, unused. It is important to build. Accordingly, Aleksandar Vučić constructed himself as a "great builder". However, his image encountered an obstacle, namely various laws, by-laws and the construction-architecture-urbanism profession. Together, they predict "boring and slow procedural rules" that slow down the rate of building growth. And those rules and procedures, let's remind you, are not there for nothing, but for, among other things, quality construction, humane living and the safety of citizens. The war against the law and the profession was made official by the "legendary" demolition in Savamala. The president justified the crime by claiming that drug addicts, snakes and rats lived in this part of the city. But we will not deal with that now.

Little by little, videos from "Belgrade on the water" are spreading on social networks: water is leaking everywhere, penetrating into garages, installations and infrastructure are hiccups, to say the least, facades are collapsing, fire extinguishers are not working, nor are fire exits functional... Not to mention the dangers that are yet to follow due to, again, disrespect for the law and the profession: the "heat island" effect with a lack of green areas, an increase in the possibility of flooding not only in that area, as well as a traffic collapse. Those who go the furthest say that the safety of the built monsters themselves is questionable, given that procedures were not followed, nor was adequate control exercised. Some inspection would have the right to object to this project!

FLOOD INCIDENTS

The question of the safety of progressive buildings, logically, began to be raised more and more after the fall of the canopy at the recently renovated Railway Station in Novi Sad. The "professional" renovation took 16 lives, which was the reason for the largest civil protests in the history of these areas, which have been going on for six and a half months.

photo: private archive of parents of pupils from Saranov

And not only that. It seems that the toll of lawlessness and high level corruption is rapidly taking an even greater toll. Just from the fall of the canopy until today, a large number of new "construction incidents" have been recorded, in which fortunately no one was killed or seriously injured. At least for now. Let's name a few: part of the ceiling at the Cardiology Clinic in Niš fell, and the ceiling at the Railway Station in Ćuprija also rattled. Previously, a pedestrian crossing bridge near the village of Vlahovo collapsed and a part of the wall at the school in Pećinci collapsed (two girls were slightly injured). Valuable social network builders also cataloged the collapse of the concrete structure of the overpass on the Požarevac-Veliko Gradište high-speed road, the collapse of the ceiling at a school in Užice, in Saranov near Rača, at the Institute for Public Health in Kragujevac and at the "Maja" kindergarten in New Belgrade. So, all that from November 1 last year until today. Is it a little?

photo: sanja lisac, boom 93

It is clear that the public is especially sensitized to such news after the tragedy in Novi Sad, but one can still speak of a real pandemic of incidents. It should be said that this is not only about the buildings that the progressive government built or renovated, but it should be remembered that the government is by definition also responsible for the maintenance of older buildings, especially if it is a matter of public buildings and especially if it boasts that there is money in the budget like chaff.

The list of affairs is far from exhausted by this. Just a comprehensive enumeration of serious problems with buildings in the past years would take up the entire issue of "Vremen". Let's remind, however, not a few: the problems with the Railway Station on Prokop. Let's also remember the market in Kragujevac, whose renovation could be the basis for a good thriller. Then to the "famous" underground garage in the center of Novi Sad, which for a long time and seems to have irrevocably destroyed Novi Sad's most beautiful street (Modene) and endangered the surrounding buildings, some of which have cultural and historical significance. Work on it is currently suspended, because no one knows what to do next.

Let's add something else, via a link, from Novi Sad, the city that signed these lines: on the site of the largest park in the city (Futoška), the construction of a business-residential complex is planned, which will take away a good part of the "lungs of the city" from the people of Novi Sad.

MEGALOMANIA, CORRUPTION AND BUDGET

Vučić is not the first ruler who tried to overshadow simplicity with magnificent construction projects and build a monument to himself during his lifetime, trampling on the profession, rules, procedures and laws. Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, thought he was an architectural expert and civil engineer, so he himself drew floor plans and made plans for grandiose buildings, considering the experts to be tiresome fools. Later there were serious problems to fix things, his monumental ballrooms were not in use for a long time.

Hitler advertised highways and planned to build a "Welthauptstadt Germania" - the capital of the world - on the outskirts of Berlin, with gigantic buildings, including a huge dome, bigger than St. Peter's Basilica. Engineers quickly determined that Berlin's soil could not support such a weight, but this one did not give up. The project was not realized because of the war and the war defeat. Ceausescu built the largest parliament in the world. This venture destroyed the already fragile Romanian economy. And Louis XIV did not listen to the profession when he built Versailles, so his wise ideas were corrected over the centuries.

But Vučić is not only a megalomaniac, construction inflation also has an economic dimension, which is additionally disastrous for the state and society. There was already mentioned corruption during large infrastructural, public projects, which as a rule are carried out in secret and whose price is, to say the least, excessive. Then there is corruption in the private sector. Investors are benefited in a variety of ways, from adjusting urban plans to abolishing valid controls. Profits are maximized, and a part of them ends up in the party and private coffers of "decision makers".

We're not done. We have a lot of bad examples from modern history: when certain state economies relied too much on the construction sector (especially in public and housing projects), thus pumping up their GDP and taking on excessive debt, the matter usually ended tragically, there were economic crises, the collapse of the real estate market and other negative long-term consequences. "Ghost towns" were created, unemployment grew after the "bursting of the bubble". It was also a serious blow to the banking sector and to citizens who were in debt.

Of course, there is also the issue of security. Remember the earthquake in Turkey. A large number of victims (there were more than 53 thousand) perished under the ruins of new buildings, which were built without complying with regulations.

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN.!

Danijel Dašić, civil engineer and civil activist from Niš, in an interview for "Vreme" explains the causes of the explosion of construction incidents in Serbia. He says that he studied construction in a different time, when the former Yugoslavia was building roads, bridges, and buildings all over the world. Then his professor constantly reminded: "Dear colleagues, never forget that under all that concrete, brick, steel and glass, there are only three key elements of good construction - common sense, logic and lots and lots of mathematics."

"When I look at an 'advanced' building today, every fall, break and collapse shows the harsh truth that those three key elements have been completely neglected in favor of higher profits, for the sake of lower quality and safety," he says.

Dašić tells us that it is completely unreasonable that for a long time we do not have a professional at the head of the ministries of construction, transport and infrastructure, that is, that this important department for the safety and lives of citizens is led by "TikTok ministers of general practice".

"Is it logical that the state of Serbia, for the sake of the interests of contractors, does not implement measures of real inspection control over key infrastructure projects? Or that it amends the Law on Planning and Construction that allows the use of buildings without a use permit? Do you think that the 'experts' created in the system of purchased diplomas and plagiarized doctorates have enough knowledge in mathematics to calculate all the elements of complex infrastructure projects? Or that all those former drivers, ceramists, KV and VKV workers, waiters, now with calling various advanced managers, can they understand and apply mathematics in the right way for the benefit of the citizens?", he asks.

Because of all this, he tells us, like in underdeveloped countries of the third world, the Chinese are doing infrastructural projects.

"Because of all that, everything falls on us - from the ceiling, over bridges, to the canopy. The roads are even the safest, because there is nothing to fall there, but holes open up into which trucks fall, like on the reconstructed section of the Belgrade-Niš highway the other day. Isaac Newton had an apple fall, so he understood and described gravity. What else do we need to fall in order to understand this system and write it off?", says Dašić.

VIOLENCE AGAINST PROFESSION AND EDUCATION

Ana Ferik Ivanovič, president of the Society of Architects of Novi Sad, says that the construction, architectural and urban planning professions have been marginalized and collapsing in Serbia for a long time. This is, first of all, noticeable during the adoption of planning documents. At least formally, experts and citizens have the right to get involved in this procedure, but in vain. The government's proposed solutions, no matter how flawed and contrary to expert opinions, are adopted without any problems. The architect says: it is violence against the profession and education.

"This problem is also visible when it comes to the attitude of investors and contractors towards the profession. Just as they had the opportunity to influence the planning documentation, over time they began to put pressure on the experts, on the design procedure, on how certain buildings will be formed, how they will function, what will be the dispositions inside them. Many of us did not agree to work under such conditions. We continued to deal with architecture, but we did not want the investor to dictate to us the width of the corridor, the amount of reinforcement or the height and width Simply, we are taught to create spaces that are human-sized, that meet the needs of future users, that are safe and do not endanger the environment and cities," she says.

It is, he concludes, not only violence against the profession and education, but also violence against cities and the environment.

"Although it is often not as visible as when a canopy falls, the infrastructural systems of cities have collapsed, and when it comes to water supply, sewage, air pollution... The will of investors is imposed and this is presented as a great urban development. Unfortunately, in a large number of cases, this is not progress at all, but one can even talk about the murder of cities," she says.

PROFIT MAXIMIZATION

The matter is simple, she says. The goal is one: profit maximization. This is clearly visible in the dimensions of the buildings, the huge number of floors, the high population density, but also in the absence of general purpose spaces and the lack of green areas.

"The network of authorities, investors and entrepreneurs all these years is very well intertwined. It works very well, but to the detriment of the citizens. In countries where that network functioned just as well, at one point the system inevitably broke. It is obvious that in our country many residential buildings are in the dark at night, therefore uninhabited, and the cities are not functioning", says Ana Ferik Ivanovic for "Vreme".

He also believes that the solution to the problem is simple: the profession must regain its social position, it must be listened to, and the institutions must work. Some laws are good, and some need to be changed as soon as possible, of course with the help of experts.

"Everything that is happening to us and what has happened is the result of skipping procedures, whether it is about the need for more square footage, whether it is about maximizing profits or speeding up construction deadlines. We also have a large number of unskilled people who are engaged in construction. Recently, there have been many imported construction workers of various profiles, workers who do not even know how to read the planning documentation, let alone work according to it. It is also questionable how well the works are controlled. Therefore, it is important to urgently start working according to the law, to check something sometimes and several times before people start using a built or renovated facility", she says.

WHERE IS THE EXIT?, HOW TO PROTECT CITIZENS?

Ferik Ivanovic adds that the situation when it comes to public buildings and works is even worse than when it comes to private buildings.

"The state still behaves badly towards public facilities and infrastructure. Procedures are not followed, nor is there adequate control of works and facilities," warns our interlocutor.

And where is the exit? What should we do when the country is freed from "crookedness" and general corruption, if we experience such a thing? Are progressive buildings time bombs that will explode in the future?

"The institutions must do their job, first of all. It will be a big job, to check the safety of newly built buildings, but also to see the condition of the older buildings, to what extent they are maintained and controlled. Supervision of the issued permits, including the use permits, is also needed, considering that in the last 13 years a lot of lies and frauds are happening daily in the field, documentation is constantly falsified, one is drawn, the other is executed, and so on. See if they are permits, especially for use, obtained in compliance with the procedure or through a shortened, accelerated procedure", she says.

photo: nenad karlic

AN INDICATIVE EXAMPLE OF UNDERGROUND GARAGES IN NOVI SAD

It may sound harsh, but it is not illogical that the great tragedy, the fall of the canopy, happened precisely in Novi Sad. Probably no place in Serbia is such a big victim of progressive urbanism as the capital of Vojvodina. He managed, with great difficulty, to survive the wartime 1990s and the transitional 2000s - it remained a beautiful city with comfortable living. However, there are no progressives. In these thirteen years, it became a node of metastasized construction of residential and commercial buildings, a city of destroyed infrastructure, traffic jams, oversized buildings, high corruption, in which green areas and other spaces that should be intended for public use are systematically destroyed.

We have written a lot about progressive construction "undertakings". Now we will concentrate on three underground garages, which are being built in the very center of the city and whose case, in our humble opinion, is indicative. The government did not take into account the opinion of the profession, which opposed these projects. The profession persistently repeated that the problem of traffic jams in the city center cannot be solved by attracting additional traffic with underground garages. The experts also warned that these buildings will spoil the appearance of the center, they talked about the sandy soil, underground water, potential danger to the surrounding buildings, some of which are important cultural and historical units. But the private-public partnership was more important than those "little things".

The results are as follows. One garage, the one near Banovina, has been completed and opened. Its above-ground part disfigured the area around the Assembly of Vojvodina, the Banovina complex, which is considered an architectural masterpiece by Dragisa Brašovan. The planned appearance was not respected. All in all, this once beautiful park now looks like Xaciland. During construction, the Assembly building was also seriously damaged. It is hoped that there will be no additional security challenges.

The second garage was going to be located in what was by far the most beautiful street in Novi Sad until a few years ago, which was named after the Italian sister city of Modena. The street was full of flowers, it is a pedestrian zone with gardens of cafes and restaurants, and there was also the famous nettle tree, one of the trademarks of Novi Sad. Koprivić died in the storm, but undoubtedly thanks to the construction of the garage. During the deep digging, obviously unprofessional, the surrounding buildings were also seriously damaged, including the Tanurdžić Palace. Work on the building has been suspended, because no one knows what to do with this garage, which has taken root where it doesn't belong. Now the city's most beautiful street looks like it was hit by a hydrogen bomb, a large lake of underground water and an abandoned construction site surrounded by sheet metal.

Fortunately, the third garage has not been started. Its goal is to destroy another important part of the city's urban core. Fish market.

We ask the interlocutor how she would solve these specific problems.

"The garage near Banovina was built quickly, and as a result we have an unacceptable solution. I think, however, that it can be worked on, in order to reduce the damage caused by its above-ground part. As for the garage in Modena Street, it was stopped because of the damage caused to the surrounding buildings, but also because of the unregulated groundwater problem. The soil there is sandy, groundwater is ubiquitous. Now there are very expensive studies that need to assess how the problems can be solved and whether they can be solved at all. The garage has significantly damaged the pedestrian street, and the question is whether it is necessary to simply stop it. Also, there are much simpler and cheaper solutions to the problem of underground garages.