‘Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980’ opens in July at the New York MoMA. The exhibition focuses on the socialist monoliths of Yugoslavia, Šerefudin's White Mosque in Bosnia, and the architecture built in Skopje after the 1963 earthquake. 400 drawings, models, photographs, and film reels from various sources will be on show at the MoMA for the seven-month duration of the exhibition. 'Concrete Utopia' will cover the work of architects such as Bogdan Bogdanović, Juraj Neidhardt, Svetlana Kana Radević, Edvard Ravnikar, Vjenceslav Richter, and Milica Šterić.
©Stojan Maksimović, courtesy of MoMA
Croatia has its fair share of socialist architecture, the finest examples can be found south of the river Sava in Novi Zagreb. There is the vast Mamutica, or mammoth, with its pinkish columns; Super Andrija, a magisterial building inspired by Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation; and the Rakete, three rocket shaped towers that were modified after the Skopje earthquake to withstand further tremors. The nickname comes from the angled appendages on the sides of the buildings, which points them up towards the sky like rockets.
©Janko Konstantinov, courtesy of MoMA
Organised by Martino Stierli along with guest curators Vladimir Kulić and Anna Kats the title leaves wide scope for the exhibition. For those unable to reach the New York MoMA, the organisers will be going live on Youtube in just 166 days.
©Edvard Ravnikar, courtesy of MoMA
Can’t wait that long? Take a stroll through Zagreb’s socialist architecture.