THE INDOCTRINATED PRESERVATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE IN BULGARIA (original) (raw)
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RECHARGING SOCIALISM: BULGARIAN SOCIALIST MONUMENTS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY
Studia ethnologica Croatica, Vol.29 No.1 Prosinac 2017, 2017
Bulgarian socialist architecture, and particularly its controversial monuments, have recently become the object of various informal actions, debates and interventions which provoke continuous social reactions and inspire spectacular newspaper front pages. It appears that such monuments have infinite potential for dividing people, not only on political, but also on aesthetical or emotional bases. Nowadays in particular, the monuments have even greater social importance as keepers of dissonant public memory, while their public appreciation reflects different post-totalitarian processes in Bulgarian postsocialist society. Bulgarian public space may be properly interpreted only in the context of its recent past which has shaped most of the contemporary architectural environment. The change of authorities at the end of communism has deprived architecture and urban development of their ideological background and of formal public approval. As a result, two conflicting attitudes coexist today: the politically charged denial of socialist art and architecture and the nostalgic revival of socialist habits, industrial objects, popular culture images and other formal representations. Socialist monuments occupy a peculiar position in between the two opposites.
Sustainability, 2024
The industrial heritage of the city of Belgrade is the focus of this research, which highlights the possibilities of preserving industrial heritage from the perspective of a contemporary context and sustainable development. Guided by theoretical principles on the preservation of cultural and industrial heritage, their values, authenticity and spirit of place, as well as the idea of the necessity of integrating industrial heritage into the contemporary context, this paper aims to examine the possibilities for the preservation of industrial heritage following theoretically established principles, with the introduction of new uses and sustainable solutions. The analysis of the case studies of Belgrade’s industrial heritage presented in this paper results from research conducted by the teachers, associates and students of the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture. The research focuses on the possibilities of translating the principles of preserving cultural and industrial heritage from their theoretical definition to practical application. The students’ conceptual solutions for protection, revitalisation and presentation of the analysed case studies represent the research results. An important aspect of this paper is defining the criteria for valorising students’ conceptual solutions, which are aligned with the principles of preserving cultural heritage and establishing sustainable development. The valorisation of students’ conceptual solutions through a defined set of criteria indicates real possibilities for the simultaneous preservation of all the values of industrial heritage and its transformation into a social, ecological and economic resource of the contemporary city.
International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research (IJETR)
The aim of the study is an analysis of some constructive systems in Bulgarian architecture in 19th century and in the beginning of 20th century. In the historical development of Bulgaria this is the time of changes in all areas of life. The period is connected with the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era and the perception of the changes brought about by the industrial development in Europe. The wooden and steel constructions used in cult and public buildings and facilities have been explored. The use of different types of materials for these structures is related to the functions of the facilities, their social and industrial significance. In the course of the study, the hypothesis of the unity of the construction system and its relation to the terrain is confirmed. The unity of the construction system is considered as a significant problem, because builders during this period follow the local historical tradition and good knowledge of the craft. Following the tradition they work with historic, traditional materials such as wood and stone. The change with the constructions and the materials comes with the liberation of the Bulgaria in 1878. At that time an accelerated development of industrial production began. The active construction of buildings and road facilities is connected with steel structures of prefabricated elements. Often, they also come into use due to the compromised peculiarities of the terrain. In the study in chronological order were analyzed cult buildings with brick massive constructions, with wooden constructions and industrial steel structures. A cult building rare for the Bulgarian architecture, such as the church in Istanbul, is accented. It is assembled from prefabricated steel profiles in order to be reversible, portable and easily replaceable structural elements. Index Terms-Bulgarian buildings and road facilities; historical stone, wooden and steel constructions; industrial production; prefabricated steel profiles.
Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2015
Bulgarian cultural heritage is the most important part of the national wealth and a major factor in the accreditation of the Bulgarian cultural identity. Preservation of cultural and historical heritage valuables of one nation determined its development and presents an integrated project for their use in accordance with the contemporary needs of the society. Sustainable management and adaptation of Bulgarian cultural and historical heritage buildings are a guarantee for preservation of their value, including social, economical, political, scientific, aesthetic, philosophical, spiritual, architectural, structural, archeological, sentimental aspects of this value. Regarding to this, structural preservation presents a priority of the sustainable management of Bulgarian cultural and historical heritage buildings. For that type of buildings the traditional methods for structural strengthening are not applicable and the development of individual rehabilitation programs is required. They must always reflect the specific conditions and building's importance. The existing technical regulations in Bulgaria are presented and general recommendations for their applications and future development are done. Regarding to the Bulgarian current law and governing regulations, the implementation plan for the conservation and management are presented on this paper. Based on the analysis of the principles of the sustainable management and especially of the structural preservation, some general conclusions are made.
The dominant monuments of the built environment are those monumental works that are the mementos of the industrialization of a nation. The industrial activity of Hungary in the 20th century was determined by the rapid expansion of the capitalist industry, then by the communist planned economy that was enforced on the socialist block after the setbacks of the world wars. These two significant periods, both covering half a century, led to architectural historical creations that are significant in terms of the style of the age and history of structure as well. The turn of the century, the early modernity, the socialist realism, then the modern architecture again became the applied style of the industrial architecture. The industrial records go through a significant change in connection with the industrial technology and economic situation. The built monuments of the ceased or forcibly liquidated industries got into utilization again, so that their saving could – on different levels – realize their social responsibility: these industrial monuments are part of our national identity, whether they are buildings of the turn of the century or monuments of the recent past. The study evaluates typical strategies for reutilization through Hungarian examplex in the turn of the millenium. Beside the mainly cultural utilization realized by the state, the private approach aslo appears that regards the the special structural and spacial characterisctics of the built industrial heritage as a special value of the renovated property.
Tostões, Ana, and Koselj, Nataša, eds. Metamorphosis. The Continuity of Change. Lisboa: Docomomo International; Ljubljana: Docomomo Slovenia, 2018
In the summer of 2017 a socialist monument was destroyed in downtown Sofia amidst heated debates. It was built in 1981 to celebrate 1300 years of the foundation of Bulgarian state in line with the prevailing communist nationalist rhetoric at the time - a Bulgarian version of the phenomenon related to a late 1970s shift in the country’s cultural policies. The socialist monument is to be replaced by a war memorial - a reconstruction of a previously existing at the same place one, built in 1934, partly destroyed by WWII bombings of Sofia and later fully dismantled by the communist regime. That memorial was part of the Heimatkunst in pre-WWII Bulgaria, commemorating the fallen soldiers in the wars for the nation state in the 1910s. The “battle of the monuments” uncovered a realm of disturbing conflicts hidden behind the seemingly monolithic European identity of the ex-socialist country. Bulgaria still preserves the image of an optimistic and reliable EU member without far-right or far-left political excesses, with modest and balanced international behaviour. Yet two monuments managed to reveal a number of identity clashes: communism vs anti-communism, nationalism vs universalism, “left” vs “right” nationalism, modern architectural heritage vs tradition. That’s the reason why the debate on the destruction of one monument is actually a debate on the future of Modern Heritage in the country. And the clash of nationalisms is in fact a battle for the post-socialist identity of the Bulgarian city, taking place on the Modern Heritage battleground.