Croatia Lacks Urban Planners

At the round table Architecture and Politics, held as part of the 2nd Congress of Croatian Architects in Opatija, today the Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Construction Marina Matulović-Dropulić emphasized that architectural policy cannot be created by politics, but by the profession, and that architects have no policy other than the profession which should be their main focus.

On the other hand, she added, politics cannot function without architects, and she noted that politics and architecture are interconnected, especially when local units commission projects or conduct competitions. The Congress of Croatian Architects, which will see the participation of around 800 architects, urban planners, and architecture theorists until October 20, was opened by the envoy of the President of the Republic, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Prefect Zlatko Komadina. The theme is "Responsibility" motivated by contemporary dilemmas about the role of architects, and discussions will focus on architectural policies, practices, and urban strategies.

Architects should work as prescribed by the profession, but there are also those who adapt to the wishes of investors, said Minister Matulović-Dropulić, adding that politics cannot dictate to the profession. She assessed that a lot has been accomplished in spatial planning over the past four years, with around 400 spatial plans for municipalities and cities developed, although not all are of equal quality.

Croatia lacks urban planners, she stated, and assessed that additional programs for their education need to be established at universities or seminars. We will propose that architects who do not respond to the permanently open competitions of the ministry in the field of urban planning be removed from the employment office, she said.

She emphasized that if the spatial plans are good, it should not matter whether the capital, or investor, is private or state-owned. Speaking about the announcement of architectural competitions, the minister asserted that they do not always need to be announced, as "we have excellent architects to whom specific projects can be entrusted," and that both options can be implemented. Opposing international competitions, she assessed that domestic architects are also competent.

In response to inquiries, for example about the Brijuni Riviera project, the minister stated that urban planning plans need to be developed and that public competitions for investors should be announced in the future, who will have to comply with the adopted plans and urban conditions. Commenting on the design of the Zagreb handball "arena," she assessed that it is not a proper example for discussion as that project needed to be urgently developed. She also reminded that during the construction of apartments under the POS program, there were instances where designers did not know how to create the execution project, others did not know how to execute it, and as a result, many buildings were poorly constructed.

The discussion also included Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel, President of the Association of Croatian Architects Saša Randić, Head of the City of Zagreb Office for Strategic Planning and Development Slavko Dakić, and President of the Class of Architects of the Croatian Chamber of Architects and Engineers in Construction Helena Knifić-Schaps. In her introductory presentation, Minister Matulović-Dropulić announced that the goal of this Government is to preserve spatial attractiveness and heritage and to create new value through new architecture. The next steps, she announced, include the development of a strategy for spatial development of Croatia, the establishment of a state office for spatial development, and city offices for spatial planning, and each city should also have an independent expert body to evaluate larger projects.

Today, the annual awards of the Association of Croatian Architects were also presented. The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Bogdan Budimirov, and for the most successful achievement in 2006, the reconstruction and extension of O.Š. "Tituša Brezovačkog" in Zagreb, Emil Špirić and Vedran Pedišić. The award for the most successful residential achievement, a mini-residential settlement in Gračani, was awarded to Hrvoje Njirić, the award for the architectural part of the permanent exhibition of the Memorial Museum "Jasenovac" went to Helena Paver-Njirić, and for overall journalistic, critical, and theoretical work in architecture and urbanism, Vladimir Mattioni.