Architectural “Yugocosmopolitanism”
Authors: Jevšenak Timotej 
Published: April 2024

&lt;p class=&quot;Abstract&quot; style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; style=&quot;mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;&quot;&gt;The research &amp;ldquo;Borba za arhitekturu&amp;rdquo; not only tries to assemble, showcase and consequently analyze the wide variety of architectural production and its tendencies in socialist Yugoslavia but also, through conversations with architects who were active in this milieu, for the first time, it provides an authentic, direct insight into the affirmation and social role of the architectural profession in correlation with its current position in Western Balkans society. It demonstrates how architecture and urbanism co-created the collective identity of Yugoslav society, and vice versa, by highlighting important milestones, such as social and professional events, media coverage, as well as industrialization and mass urbanization, subsequently followed by numerous public republican and federal open architectural and urban tenders which brought forth exceptional original space concepts and works. The exceptionality of socialist Yugoslavia&amp;rsquo;s architectural production can also be well identified through the media popularisation of it, both within Yugoslavia and beyond its borders and especially revealed through the prism of the one and only federal Yugoslav architectural Borba Award (1965-1991), established by the editorial board of the then-prominent Borba newspaper and the Association of Architects of Yugoslavia. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;EN-GB&quot; style=&quot;mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;&quot;&gt;The Borba Award was not only the highest professional recognition but also a broad, popular public media award. It also represented one of the first postwar institutionalized awards for architectural achievements in Europe and the world. Since neither the Borba nor the Association, after the furious disintegration of the country, were ever able to collect the complete documentation of nominated and awarded works, this research gathers in one place an extensive range of reproductions of original photographs and plans, showcasing an extraordinary set of architectural creations from all over the former Yugoslavia between 1960 and 1991. Simultaneously, it delves into the social mission of Borba and provides an overview of professional juries and their interesting critiques. As an authentic insight into the practice and affirmation of the architectural profession, the research also introduces personal interviews with 19 renowned architects from all republics who were active during this period and, among other prizes for their creations, received the Borba Award and were a part of its jury. &amp;ldquo;Borba za arhitekturu&amp;rdquo; thus aims to raise new questions and provide a reason for further analysis of the &quot;Yugoslav architecture&amp;rdquo; phenomenon, which still remains insufficiently known to both the domestic Western Balkans and the international public, and tries to encourage awareness of the rich shared heritage of the Balkans prompting questions about the current role of the architectural profession, social culture, and contemporary spatial development in comparison to the milieu of former socialist Yugoslavia.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;