Georgi Konstantinovski (born 29 July 1930 in
Kragujevac
Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...
,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, died 08 December 2020 in
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
) was a Macedonian
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, writer and educator. He graduated from the
SS Cyril and Methodius University, Faculty of Architecture in
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
in 1956 and received his Master of Architecture Degree from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, under the mentorship of
Paul Rudolph and
Serge Chermayeff
Serge Ivan Chermayeff (born Sergei Ivanovich Issakovich; russian: link=no, Сергей Ива́нович Иссако́вич; 8 October 1900 – 8 May 1996) was a Russian-born British architect, industrial designer, writer, and co-founder of ...
, in 1965.
His early works are stylistically considered
Brutalist
Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...
. In
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, he worked and collaborated with
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
,
Henry Cobb Jr., and
Araldo Cossutta
Araldo Cossutta (January 11, 1925 – February 24, 2017) was an architect who worked primarily in the United States. He worked at the firm I. M. Pei & Partners from 1956 to 1973. I. M. Pei has been among the most honored architects in the world. ...
.
In his search for design features that reflect the individual philosophy, structure, and art of each building, Konstantinovski designed more than 450 architectural and urban projects.
He was awarded the highest Macedonian and Yugoslav architectural awards, such as the highest National Award for Art "11 Oktomvri" for Best Architectural Achievement in Skopje, in addition to three Grand Prix on the Architectural Biennale in Macedonia. He further contributed to contemporary Macedonian architecture as an educator and writer. He was President of the
Council for Urban Planning and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje,
and a member of the
Architectural Academy of Macedonia.
Konstantinovski was an important contributor to contemporary Macedonian architecture. Some of his most renowned buildings are the City Archive in Skopje, the Student's Dormitories "Goce Delcev",
the Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology, the
ASNOM Memorial Center, and the Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising.
Early years
Born on July 29, 1930, in the town of
Kragujevac
Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...
in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, Konstantinovski was the third child of mother Hristina, a high-school teacher, and father Hristo, a lawyer. His mother came from the Stankovic family of musicians, well known in Kragujevac. His father was from the clan Curanovci of the village
Smilevo
Smilevo () is a village in North Macedonia, municipality of Demir Hisar.
It is famous for the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising which started in the village in the morning of August 2, 1903 (see Battle of Smilevo). The decision for the uprising wa ...
, a revolutionary family during the
Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising
The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, or simply the Ilinden Uprising of August–October 1903 ( bg, Илинденско-Преображенско въстание, Ilindensko-Preobrazhensko vastanie; mk, Илинденско востание, ...
.
Following the death of his mother (1933) and father (1934), Konstantinovski settled in
Bitola
Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...
in the
Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
with his grandparents. He completed primary school there in 1941. The same year, Konstantinovski contracted
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
and was sent for treatment to Kerkovica in the
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
until 1946. By 1946, he completed his high school education and was declared—together with fellow student Bojan Nicev from Veles—the best student. From 1946 to 1949, he continued his education at the High School Goce Delcev in Bitola. He graduated with excellent scores and again was declared best student. He was also awarded a special reward by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Macedonia.
Education and work
In 1949, following the planned program of the Ministry of Education, Konstantinovski enrolled in the Architecture Department of the Technical Faculty in Skopje. In 1953, he worked on seaside residential settlement projects in the town of
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, Israel, at the Bureau of the Architect Samo Almosnino, as well as kibbutz city planning projects at the Jewish Agency Bureau. In 1956, he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture with distinctions and was employed at the Bureau of City Planning and Architecture in Skopje, to work on city planning for the town settlements of Zdanec and Cair. From 1956 to 1957, he did his military service with the engineering army unit in
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
, Croatia.
In 1958, Konstantinovski became an assistant at the Technical Faculty, Skopje–Architecture Department on the subject of "Designing of Residential and Catering Buildings". He began practicing housing architecture in 1969 at the Bureau „Projekat", headed by architect
Rajko Tatic, in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. In 1965, he obtained his master's degree at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, under the mentorship of
Paul Rudolph and
Serge Chemaef.
He worked on an administrative building project in 1965 at the Bureau of the Architect
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
in New York City.
From 1995 until his retirement, Konstantinovski was a full-time professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje.
Professional career
* 1958–95
** Moved from assistant to full-time professor of the subject Designing of Residential and Catering Buildings
** Mentor to students obtaining M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees, and post-graduates, and several hundred graduates
** Head of the Design Institute
* 1983 – President of the Urbanism Council of the City of Skopje
* 1987–88 – Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, SS Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje
* 1999 – Member of the Macedonian Academy of Architecture
Lectures
* 1966–67 – 10 lectures on the greatest architects of the modern world architecture to architects in Skopje
* 1977 – Modern Architecture in Macedonia at Kolarcev University in Belgrade
* 1988 – My Architectural Work at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade
* 1990 – Modern Architecture of Skopje at the International Congress of Architects in Bursa, Turkey
* 1991–97 – Several lectures at the International Congress of Architects in Bursa, Turkey
* 1994 – New Way of Housing at "Jildiz" University, Istanbul, Turkey
Publications
* 1967–68 – Editor-in-chief of articles on architecture in the daily newspaper ''Vecer''
* 1978–80 – Participant in the joint scientific piece of work ''Rational Residential Construction'', Faculty of Architecture, Skopje
* 1986 – ''XX Century Architecture'', „Prosveta", Belgrade, chapter: "Modern Architecture in Macedonia"
* 2001 – ''Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century'', volume 1, "Tabernakul", Skopje
* 2003 – ''Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century'', volume 2, "Tabernakul", Skopje
* 2006 – ''Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century'', volume 3, "Tabernakul", Skopje
Designs
List of significant buildings
* 1966 –
Archive of the City of Skopje, Blvd. "Partizanski Odredi"
* 1967 – Pensioners Recreation Home at Katlanovska Banja
* 1969 –
Students Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje
* 1971 – Printing House in Pristina, Kosovo –
* 1972 – Town Archive Building of Stip
* 1974 – Town Archive Building of Ohrid
* 1978 –
Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology "IZIIS", Skopje
* 1979 – Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci, near Delcevo
* 1983 – Strumicko-Povardarska Eparchy, Veles
* 1988 – Architectural and Urban Concept of the settlement "Jagula", Struga
* 1989 – Administrative building and two residential blocks (GF+3 stories) at "Marsal Tito" Street, Struga
* 1993 – Palace "Unija“ at "Ivo Ribar Lola" Street, Skopje
* 1994 – Administrative-commercial building (Palace "Kuzman“) at "Ivo Ribar Lola" 58 Street, Skopje
* 1995 – Residential building (GF+ Mezzanine +4 stories +top story) at "29 Noemvri" Street, Skopje (opposite Performance Hall "Univerzalna sala")
* 1995 – Treatment Home „Sue Raider", Gjorce Petrov, Skopje
Studies
* 1986–2003
** Piransa, Pirastela, and Piradonija: studies on living in high residential structures
** Studies on low residential structures
** Studies on atrium houses in various geometric forms (e.g. circle, triangle, square, polygon, spiral)
* 2006 – Residential mega-structure
Competitions
* 1969 – 1
st prize, Students' Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje
* 1977 – 1
st prize, Skopje City Hall (the only award)
* 1993 – 1
st prize, Orthodox Basilica in Strumica
* 1998 – 1
st prize, Parliament Building in Astana, Kazakhstan
* 2005 – 1
st prize, Memorial Museum ASNOM, village Pelince, Kumanovo
* Big number of first-ranked works, as well as many II and III prizes at level of former Yugoslavia.
Awards
* 1969 – Borba plaquette for the Archive of Skopje
* 1969 – 11 Oktomvri National award for the Archive of Skopje
* 1972 – Borba plaquette for the Students' Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje
* 1981 – Borba plaquette for the Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci, near Delcevo
* 1981 – Grand Award of BIMAS for the Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci
* 1988 – Medal of labor with gold wreath
* 1995 – Grand Reward of BIMAS for the Palace "Unija", Skopje
* 1999 – Award Andrea Damjanov for lifework
* 2005 – Grand Award for architecture for the Memorial Museum "ASNOM"
Honorary duties
* 1965 – Guest of the Senator Robert Kennedy and the State Secretary, Mr. McPherson, in Washington on the occasion of the International Students Day in the USA as the only representative of the University in Yale, New Haven, USA
* 1991 – Declared the best architect of Yugoslavia at the Third Belgrade Triennial of World Architecture
* 1991 – Declared one among the 55 best world architects at the Third Belgrade Triennial World Architecture
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konstantinovski, Georgi
1930 births
Architects from Skopje
Modernist architects
Brutalist architects
Living people
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje alumni
Yale University alumni
People from Kragujevac