Podgorica, Montenegro_ Morača Sport and Recreation Center
Architect: Predrag Dmitrović
Date: 1979

The Morača Sport and Recreation Center, Morača referring to a nearby river , is composed of two major halls, one an indoor athletic stadium opening up towards a post-war neighborhood, while the other hall containing two public pools bows down to the river’s edge.

The two objects, formally different with some reference to Saarinen’s Hockey Ring, both rely on the structure of the roof to create grandiose interior spaces with a unique exterior presence. The objects align linearly and mingle under the canopy of a patio strengthening the dominant axis and providing a perpendicular axis from one side of the complex to the parking.

Unfortunately, the recreational facilities of the complex were short lived when an earthquake damaged the water facilities for the pools. The damage was too complicated to resolve and the pool remains off limits to this day.


View of complex from nearby bridge.


Meeting of the stadiums from afar.


View from parking lot.


Close up view of 'hinge' between stadium and enclosed patio.


View towards parking lot from under the enclosed patio.


Front entrance to athletic stadium.


Interior view of stadium.


View of indoor pool from outdoor pool/plaza area.


Interior of pool stadium.

Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina_Museum of the Revolution Architects: Boris Magas and Edo Smidhen Date: 1963 The ground and the sky materialize to form two large volumes; a plinth below and a large marble box above. The two sections are kept apart by a glazed wrapping moving in-between the... View full entry

Mostar, Bosnia & Hercegovina _ Department Store Architect: A. Paljaga Date: 1970 On my way to Sarajevo, I decided to prolong my Dalmatian experience with stopovers in Dubrovnik and Mostar. Highlights of the cities include the well preserved 14th century Venetian Old Town and the 16th century... View full entry

Split, Croatia _ Gripe Sport Stadium Architect: Slavko Rozić and Živorad Janković Date: 1979-80 To many the city of Split is known for its fragmented remains of what once was Diocletian’s Palace (approx. 300AD), so it was with little surprise that on a sunny Dalmatian day in... View full entry

After Ljubljana I took an overnight bus back to Croatia, this time I headed down south towards the Dalmatian Coast. Although I have just one project to visit, I decided to mark this halfway point in my travels with a break to re-fuel. I am currently spending a couple of weeks exploring and... View full entry

My trip to Ljubljana would not be complete without a visit to some of Jože Plečnik’s projects. Below are a few photographs of Plečnik’s Library and some additional projects by his student Edvard Ravinkar. One needs only to look at the façade to see the influence... View full entry

Ljubljana, Slovenia_ Clinical Centre Architect: Stanko Kirstl Date: 1968-77 I had no idea that the cobblestone circle motif molded in the pavement or the long bands of pale orange concrete panels cladding the hospital were going to reoccur so many times. After a few hours of carefully observing... View full entry

Ljubljana, Slovenia_ Gas Station Architect: Milan Mihelič Date: 1968 This little intervention was at one point an active gas station, but today just sits, tucked in the corner of a curved section of the street, surrounded by two much larger buildings. The ornate flowering of the column is... View full entry

Maribor, Slovenia_ Social Housing Jemčev vrt Architect: Borut Pečenko Date: 1972-75 After a few short hours, the slow rhythm of northern Croatia’s patchy landscape quickly crescendos into a field of mountains and valleys declaring the entrance into Slovenia. Maribor is the second... View full entry

Zagreb, Croatia_Workers Open University, Architects: Ninoslav Kučan and Radovan Nikšić Date: 1961 It’s a shame how dreary buildings appear on a stormy afternoon, and how cumbersome the camera feels between cold fingers. A few minutes down the busy street from the... View full entry

Zagreb, Croatia_ Zagrepčanka Business Complex Architect: Slavko Jelinek and Berislav Vinković Date: 1976 About a 40 minute walk southwest of Trg Jelačića - Trg Jelačića is an area of Zagreb where the upper town approximately meets the lower town - is the business... View full entry

Zagreb, Croatia _Social/Housing Bank Architect: Ivan Vitić Date: I came across this project as I was walking around the city. I just arrived from the train station and decided to familiarize myself with the streets. Although I was not in search of this particular project, the wooden shutters... View full entry

Novi Sad, Serbia_ Department Store Architect: Milan Mihelić Date: 1968-72 Novi Sad ,the capital of the Vojvodina province of Serbia, is located about an hour north of Belgrade. The city itself is organized with an older more historic city centre, which I found to be very active with colorful... View full entry

Belgrade, Serbia _ 25 May Sport Center Architect: Ivan Antić Date: 1971-74 I spent a little bit of time with this building. I will be back in Belgrade at the end of my travels, and hope to document the project a little more. View of Sportcenter from pedestrian walkway. View full entry

Belgrade, Serbia _ Congress Center Sava Architects: Stojan Maksimović, Aleksandar Saletić Date: 1976-77 I made my way through New Belgrade’s many neighborhoods to find myself standing amongst taxi drivers , in the corner of the complex, amazed at the emptiness of the giant mega... View full entry

Belgrade, Serbia_ Museum of Contemporary Art Architects: Ivan Antić and Ivanka Raspopović Date: 1961-1963 The museum is located in the park region of Ušće on the edge of New Belgrade. Although the museum is currently undergoing a renovation, I was able to see some of the... View full entry

The following blog is a glimpse of my travels throughout the ex-Yugoslav Republics. The documentation is part of a larger research agenda driven to uncover and examine the idiosyncrasies of the architecture that grew out of social modernism in Yugoslavia in the 60s and 70s. In the following months... View full entry