Development of construction techniques in residential architecture of Belgrade during the 19th and early 20th centuries

Abstract

Due to the radical political, economic and social changes of the 19th century Belgrade saw a complete transformation from a ruined Ottoman town into a modern European one. Liberation from Turkish rule and stabilisation of political and economic conditions influenced the population growth and intensified building activity. Like other European capitals, Belgrade was being transformed architecturally and in its urban plan, gradually losing traits of an Oriental town. The adoption of new building techniques in the 19th century was a way for local civil engineering to harmonise with engineering practices of the developed Central European countries which had by then already adopted masonry structure. The article studies the transition in building forms from Oriental ones, largely charatcterised by timber-framed systems, to a brick-based construction system. This paper is part of a wider, more comprehensive research on building techniques in Belgrade’s residential architecture, undertaken to define the typology of construction systems, in order to evaluate the quality of residential comfort in the buildings of Belgrade.

Promene koje su se dogodile tokom 19. veka na političkom, ekonomskom i društvenom planu uticale su da Beograd doživi pot­puni preobražaj i od polurazrušene turske varoši preraste u moderan evropski grad. Oslobađanje od turske vlasti i stabilizacija političkih i ekonomskih prilika doprineli su porastu broja stanovnika u gradu i intenziviranju graditeljske delatnosti. Beograd, po uzoru na druge evropske prestonice, doživljava arhitektonski i urbanistički preobražaj i postepeno gubi dotadašnja obeležja orijentalne varoši. Prihvatanje novih tehnika građenja tokom 19. veka predstavljalo je način da se domaći sistemi građenja usaglase s masivnim zidanim sistemom u građenju kuća koji su već usvojile tehnički razvijenije srednjoevropske zemlje. U radu je istražen proces prelaska sa orijentalnog načina građenja, gde je bondruk bio neprikosnoveni sistem, na zidani masivni sklop sa opekom kao osnovnim materijalom konstrukcije. Rad je deo šireg i vremenski obuhvatnijeg istraživanja tehnika građenja u stambenoj arhitekturi Beograda, rađenog za potrebe definisanja tipologije sklopova elemenata konstrukcije s ciljem da se valorizuje kvalitet stambenog komfora beogradskih zgrada.