Drago Ibler (14 August 1894 – 12 September 1964) was a Croatian

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 ...

and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken a ...

. His style can be described as pure simplicity and functional

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. Ibler was born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. He gained his diploma in architecture at the Technische Hochschule in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, Germany. In 1921, he joined the group around Le Corbusier and ''L'Esprit Nouveau'' in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He then studied from 1922 to 1924 at the ''Staatliche Kunstakademie'' in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, in the studio of German architect

Hans Poelzig Hans Poelzig (30 April 1869 – 14 June 1936) was a German architect, painter and set designer. Life Poelzig was born in Berlin in 1869 to Countess Clara Henrietta Maria Poelzig while she was married to George Acland Ames, an Englishman. Uncerta ...

which influenced his work during 1920s. His first significant project, the District Labour Insurance Building in Zagreb (1923), was the first project to reflect the spirit of the modern architectural movement in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. Between 1925 and 1935, he established the so-called "Zagreb school of architecture" with fellow architects

Drago Galić Drago may refer to: People * Drago (given name) * Drago (surname) * Drago (wrestler), Mexican professional wrestler Víctor Soto * Drago Dumbovic, Croatian footballer known simply as Drago * Drago, nickname of Alexander Volkov * Prince del Drag ...

, Mladen Kauzlarić,

Stjepan Planić Stjepan Planić (27 December 1900 – 26 December 1980) was a Croatian architect. His style can be described as a synthesis of functionalist and organic architecture. Biography From 1920 to 1922 he worked for the architect Rudolf Lubinsky and, ...

and others. Drago Ibler was a strong supporter of the social ideals of modern architecture as well as the aesthetics, and founded the

Earth Group The Earth Group ( hr, Grupa Zemlja) was a Croatian arts collective active in Zagreb, Croatia from 1929 to 1935, when it was banned. The group aimed to defend their artistic independence against foreign influences such as Impressionism or Neoclassici ...

( hr, Grupa Zemlja), with a group of left-oriented progressive artists. He was also a member of CIAM. Drveni neboder, Marticeva

In the 1920s and 1930s, Ibler worked on numerous architectural competitions, but with poor results due to the conservative environment and resistance to his progressive ideas. In this time he designed villas on the island of

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after ...

and in

, several industrial buildings, the District Labour Insurance Building in

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

(built in 1930, today an ambulatory care facility), this building has a convex half-ring-shaped entrance with a porch, and a dynamical balance of the low office building and the tall volume of the residential part and stairways. After that, he designed the District Labour Insurance Building in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...

(1932), which was important for Yugoslav architecture because it introduced Le Corbusier's principles, including ribbon windows. In 1926, Drago Ibler became a professor at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts, where he taught architecture until 1941. After that, he relocated to Switzerland and joined the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

as a lecturer in architecture. After the World War II, in 1950, he returned to Zagreb, and led a Master Studio in architecture, returning to teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts. He ceased to be a rigid functionalist and encouraged the humanization of architecture by means of more decorative, sculptural and harmonious compositions. An example of this are his designs for the New Opera House in Belgrade (1948; unrealized). He made excellent designs for the New Yugoslav Embassy in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

(1959; unrealized), and New Tito's Residence in Zagreb (1961- 4; unrealized). Before his death, he designed several residential blocks in the centre of Zagreb, which are characterized by simplicity and functional planning, in Martićeva, Smičiklasova and Vlaška Streets. Ibler died, aged 70, in an automobile accident near

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; sl, Novo mesto; also known by other alternative names) is a city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

References

External links

Ibler, Drago
at the

Croatian Biographical Lexicon ''Croatian Biographical Lexicon'' ( hr, Hrvatski biografski leksikon) is a multi-volume biographical and bibliographical encyclopedia in Croatian, published by the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography. It contains biographies of prominent ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibler, Drago 1894 births 1964 deaths Architects from Zagreb People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia University of Zagreb faculty Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Road incident deaths in Slovenia Yugoslav architects