Always in-between

The Bosnian architects Sead Golos, Amir Vuk, and Srdja Hrisafovic talking about their hometown Sarajevo: Portrait of a new metropolis.

Bosnia- Herzegovina’s EU membership does not appear to be within easy reach at this point of time. The country’s line of sight has long been the West and will be even more so with the current candidates’ accession to the EU on May 1 – shifting its borders even closer to the EU. Bosnia is orientated towards the West not just geographically but economically, legally and culturally as well. Manuela Hötzl spoke with the architects Sead Golos, Amir Vuk, and Srdja Hrisafovic about Sarajevo, the search for an identity, coming to terms with the war, and the future.

Manuela Hötzl: Sarajevo looks back on a war for a term of ten-years. Did you personally spend your time in Bosnia during this period?
Amir Vuk: Half of the population of Sarajevo was scattered all over the world back then. To some extent, this is still the case. There are Bosnians living in Asia, Europe and America. There is also a benefit to it: We are always able to find a n over-night accomodation anywhere in the world. Though, during the war I spend my time with my family in Vancouver.

Srdja Hrisafovic: … and I returned two years ago from New Zealand, Sead stayed in Sarajevo.

But haven’t a lot of people just like you returned to Sarajevo?
A. V.: Yes. And they keep on returning, at least for the summer. Sarajevo is different than any other city in the summer. Instead of being deserted and dying out, it nearly doubles its population. This exerts a strong influence on the environs, because everyone coming from abroad brings in new ideas and knowledge, inspiring us to find and develop our own identity. During the summer months, it is almost palpable. The debates are intense and highly emotional.

Sead Golos: All the cultural events, such as film and theater festivals, are staged in August. Not only does the city boom, the cultural calendar is chock-full. This is made possible only with the help of a number of private persons taking initiatives - which particularly our generation is good at.

A. V.: The image of Sarajevo is also changing because of our children. Mine, for example, lead a very modern, urban life and are up to date on everything happening in the world. They speak English, Bosnian and German. We have all travelled to different places all over the world. Before the war, we were a friendly Mediterranean people fond of spending our time outdoors.

You mean your life is typically Mediterranean?
A. V.: A lot of things have once again gone back to where they were before the war. If you live in Sarajevo, you live in restaurants and cafés. We don’t call each other on the phone; we meet up in person.

S. H.: I know just where to look to find my colleagues. Life and conversations are kept at quite a personal level. But what we need are serious debates related to our special discipline. This is virtually non-existent in Sarajevo. There used to a center for architecture downtown. Incidentally, we called it the Austria House because the Austrian government built it for the 1984 Olympics. Unfortunately, it was totally destroyed in the war.

A. V.: Though, currently there are definite plans under way to to build a new center for architects. But as everything else here in Bosnia, it will take a long time to get translated into action. It’s no wonder, I guess, because of the war we lost ten years.

S. H.: The three of us have co-founded an independent association of architects in Sarajevo. All the architects in Sarajevo, about 500, are members, even the ones working for governmental organizations. Everyone volunteers their time. The Bosnian government doesn’t subsidize culture.

Are there still a lot of societal structures left over from the Socialist days?
A. V.: You have to give us some time. Our people have to learn to manage a state first. Until now, our laws and regulations were always dictated from Istanbul, Belgrade and, before that, from Austria.

S. G.: The government’s has designed too detailed bureaucratic projects. Believe it or not, you need twenty permits just to erect a building in Sarajevo.

S. H.: A lot of structures are too centralized. We certainly still think along socialist lines. It takes a while to leave history behind.

S. G.: Our system is difficult for foreign investors. They arrive with projects that are already all drawn up and want to build as quickly as possible. But our urban policy planning department has categorized every single property, assigned it a given function, and specified its height and size. Everything is defined and determined in advance. If you want to build a supermarket instead of a school, for example, you can only do so if this urban plan is changed. And doing that, requires a lot of money and a minimum of two years.

But is it possible?
A. V.: In principle, everything is possible in Bosnia. That’s why people have come up with the weirdest and totally unrealistic ideas. The problem with centralized planning is that it cannot act with foresight. The only problems solved are glaringly obvious ones. The privatization of only a part of urban planning would be great supplement to the government’s strict building authorities. I think it is important for the future that the urban policies are designed according to the demands of reality.

S. H.: The fact that foreign investors enter with already drawn up projects also smacks of imperialism, of course; or, to a certain degree, of colonization! We expect to be treated respectfully. In this regard, many Austrian banks currently constructing in Bosnia are doing quite a good job as they are also investing in infrastructure.

How does Bosnia handle the privatization of the country?
S. G.: Privatization started here, too, three years ago, and has been going on ever since. It involves mostly companies and factories. The country is still completely owned by the state. Privatization is a painful process for us as a former part of a socialist state.

A. V.: In former Yugoslavia the urban planning department was centrally organized and checked the communally owned apartments and all the construction firms in the country. Now people want to prove that they have money and go ahead and put up their ostentatious buildings. That is happening mostly in the outskirts of Sarajevo, where an entire ring of new buildings has been created. Most of them do not reveal a particularly high standard.

S. H.: What poses a major problem in those districts is the lack of infrastructure – in many areas there aren’t even any water pipes.

Is state control still predominant, despite privatization?
A. V.: Everything is under its control, one way or another. One of the difficulties we are dealing with is the fact that our building codes are partly based on German and Austrian models. Yet in actual practice they are not enforceable and do not correspond to reality here. For instance, low rent housing projects, hospitals and schools are built exclusively by the state.

Is there an urban planning scheme covering the growth of the city?
S. G.: A lot has to be , or for that reason, is being replaced by new structures. But that is a political question. What is crucial is infrastructure, the motorway, and a direct connection to Budapest. And then they’ll build the kind of shopping malls there that you see along the motorway in Vösendorf at the outskirts of Vienna.

So you aren’t learning from other people’s mistakes?
S. H.: Of course, it would be a great opportunity for us to avoid others people’s mistakes, but we don’t seem to be willing to learn from history – instead we simply want to have one and the same. In that sense, our slowness and lack of big investors is sometimes also a blessing: This way we are able to conserve our resources

Bosnia is a young country with a new capital. What are the criteria for the nation’s self-definition/self-apprehension in terms of culture and politics?
S. H.: People abroad are still somewhat suspicious of Bosnia. We are certainly aware of our mistakes, but you still have to believe that the future has something in store for you - and contribute actively in shaping this future.

A. V.: It is important for Bosnia to create a collective self-consciousness, i.e. a national imaginary, and a cultural identity. Before, we belonged to Yugoslavia, to Austria, and to Turkey. Now we are Bosnian. But what does it really mean to be Bosnian? What do we want? What do we have to offer? In principle, the preconditions are good and all the resources are available.

S. G.: Sarajevo was not formed by the people who inhabit the city. This is a problem prevailing all over the Balkans. Wars have destroyed the cities’ inside and outside. Sarajevo has grown from a city of 40,000 to one of 500,000 in a very short period of time. Managing a city on our own is a learning process for all of us.

As a multicultural nation, what culture do you feel the most affinity for?
S. G.: We are a country consisting of many ethnic groups, from many nations. Bosnia has always been somewhere in-between, between East and West – and this remains the case for the time being. We are influenced by Eastern, Turkish to a large extent. We believe in this type of beauty and if we could apply these models in urban planning, we would be the champions!

A. V.: Our Turkish buildings are very special. This subject has already been thoroughly investigated by our architectural mentor Juraj Neidhart. If you stroll through Sarajevo, it has the feel of an exotic and colorful city. If you walk just a few meters here and there, you will be struck by the many different cultural influences. In Sarajevo a lot of cultures coexist very palpably side-by-side.

S. H.: Our modern buildings are actually hybrids of Turkish ones and also bear the imprint of the Czechs who did a lot of constructing in the 1920s. Unfortunately, we have often neglected our traditions. Beautiful parts of the city have disappeared and continue to do so presently. The population is not especially committed to culture; there are a lot of ugly buildings around. Presumedly, in this regard we are no different than any other city.

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