Croatian Architecture - 20th Century

20th Century

Till the end of World War I in Croatia there was coexistence of several art movements and styles, but all avant-garde movements were absent. That is why the greatest artworks of that period were done in the spirit of 19th-century art. The most important architecture done in Viennas Art Nouveau (also called Sezessionsstil, 'Secessionism') is done at that time. Ethnographic Museum in 1901, Kalina House in 1903, National Library in 1912 were built in Zagreb, while Sulphurous Bath in 1903, and Croatian National Theatre in 1908, were built in Split.

The modern Croatian architecture appeared with Viktor Kovačić, who was the first to speak against historicism and represented the idea that architecture must be individual and modern, but also practical and comfortable. His projects are marked with subtle purity of reduced elements of historicism, like in the monumental Palace of Burze in Zagreb, 1924. From the thirties the works of "Zagreb school" of architecture can stand alongside with the best world architecture. They are especially interesting because of merging of two opposite directions in architecture of those days – functionalistic and organic.

Drago Ibler has published a manifest of group "Earth" in which he says: "We should live in the spirit of our age and create accordingly; … The modern life is full of social ideas and questions considering everybody and an artist can’t stand outside that collective because art and life are one." Most of his projects were rejected, and out of the ones that were actually done extraordinaire is the building of Social Security in Mostar. Today the simple ambulance, built in 1930, have a beautiful convex half-ring shaped entrance with a porch, and dynamic balance of short office building and tall volume of resident part and stairways.

Stjepan Planić, also a member of group "Earth", with his numerous buildings have made a makeover of Zagreb and earned a place in Anthology of Modern Architecture. Every project of his is marked with some new idea: Villa in Kozarčeva street from 1931 is gradually accommodated to the hillside, "Tomislav Home" in Sljeme from 1935, made out of wood and stone, has unique plane in the shape of letter Y, circular villa on the Prekrižje, also from 1935, has radial inner walls, while "Napredak" building from 1936 has unique oval plan. He fought for the architectural freedom to plan the buildings accordingly with climatic conditions, the sun, the wind and the sightings, and for the affirmation of new social and human ideas in habitat culture.