Edo Šen (born Edo Schön; 1877–1949) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

architect notable for creating the foundation of the modern Croatian architecture.

Early life

Šen was born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

on 10 March 1877. After high school graduation in 1894, he went to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

where he studied at the Vienna University of Technology. Šen graduated in 1900. After graduation, he worked in the studio of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n architect

Max Fabiani Maximilian Fabiani, commonly known as Max Fabiani (, ) (29 April 1865 – 12 August 1962) was an Italians, Italian architect, born in the village of Kobdilj near Štanjel on the Karst Plateau, County of Gorizia and Gradisca, in present-day Sl ...

Career

In 1901 Šen returned to Zagreb and started to work as a servant in the City council Civil engineering office. There he led technical tasks related to building and construction control. In 1905 Šen co-founded the Croatian architects club (''Klub hrvatskih arhitekta''). From 1908 to 1919 he was a professor at the Technical School in Zagreb. He was one of the founders, in 1919, of the Faculty of Architecture,

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

and one of its first professors. Later he was elected rector of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb. Šen's work is strongly influenced by historical

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

. His early eclecticism is characterized by the idiosyncratic elements on the main facade of the

Croatia osiguranje Croatia osiguranje d.d. (English: Croatia Insurance) is an insurance company based in Zagreb. Croatia osiguranje is the largest and oldest insurance firm in Croatia. As of 2018, its share in the Croatian insurance market is approximately 32%. ...

palace in

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech name, Czech and Slovak name, Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas (name), Thomas. Tomáš is also a surname (feminine: Tomášová). Notable people with the name include: Given name Sport *Tomáš Berdych (born 198 ...

street, Zagreb. After 1918 his work shows the influence of the

Modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

, but that influence was not applied dogmatically. Representative public buildings, such as the Institute of Forestry (1926) in

Božidar Adžija Božidar Adžija ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар Аџија; 24 December 1890 – 9 July 1941) was a Croatian communist politician and publicist. Biography A native of Drniš in the Kingdom of Dalmatia (present-day Croatia), of Croat and Serb descent, ...

street, Zagreb, is massed in large cubic forms expressing restrained monumentality. Other Sen's realization of that era are apartment buildings "Mervar" (former "Society humanity home") in Petrinjska street and residential building "Bezuk" in Boškovićeva street, all in Zagreb. During his career he worked with the Croatian architect Juraj Denzler. In 1930 Šen started to work with another Croatian architect, Milovan Kovačević. Kovačević was also his assistant at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb. Šen died in Zagreb on 16 June 1949.

Gallery

Image:Edo Šen- Kuća Vasić, Varšavska 6, Zagreb (1928.).jpg, Residential building Vasić, Varšavska street 6, Zagreb. Image:Edo Šen i Milovan Kovačević- Arhitektnski ( Tehnički) fakultet, Kačićeva ulica 26, Zagreb (1938-40.).JPG, Faculty of Architecture,

, Kačićeva street 26, Zagreb. Image:Edo Šen- Palača Croatia, ugao Preradovićeva - Masarykova, Zagreb (1909.- 1910.).jpg, Croatia osiguranje palace, corner of Preradovićeva - Masarykova street, Zagreb.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Edo 1877 births 1948 deaths Architects from Zagreb Croatian Jews Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians TU Wien alumni Jewish architects Academic staff of the University of Zagreb