Stjepan Planić (27 December 1900 – 26 December 1980) 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 ...

. 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, after 1927, in his own practice in Zagreb. He also studied architecture (1927–31) at the Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb, in the studio of Drago Ibler and in 1931 joined the progressive group founded by Ibler, 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 ...

. Planić was a protagonist of the social ideals of modern architecture as well as the aesthetic, and he had a special interest in social or low-cost housing. Ironically, however, he became a sought-after specialist in the design of luxury villas in Zagreb, and was thus marked as a

hypocrite Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...

. In answer to this charges, he designed office and residential buildings in the centre of Zagreb, which are characterized by simplicity and functional planning; examples include the residential buildings in Draškovićeva Street (1932), Marinkovićeva Street, Bogovićeva Street (1937) and Martićeva Street (1938). He also wrote three "Letters on housing", in which he explains his working concepts in letters to a housewife. In 1942 he converted the circular Arts Pavilion, Trg žrtava fašizma, Zagreb, designed by the sculptor

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's ...

, into a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

by adding three free-standing minarets around the body of the central cylinder and designing a new interior richly decorated with arabesques. The mosque, a monumental and somewhat bizarre addition to the Central European appearance of its surroundings, was demolished in 1949 for political reasons, and Planić was anathemized because of it. After the war, he worked in the Ministry of Construction (1945–1950), Principle Directory of Construction (1950–1952) Secretariat for Construction and Urbanism (1959–1962). On 30 July 1970 Planić retired but continued with his architectural work. In 1968 he received the

Vladimir Nazor Award The Vladimir Nazor Award ( hr, Nagrada Vladimir Nazor) is a Croatian prize for arts and culture established in 1959 and awarded every year by the Ministry of Culture. Named after the writer Vladimir Nazor (1876–1949), the prize is awarded to C ...

for Lifetime Achievement and in 1972 the "Viktor Kovačić" Award for Lifetime Achievement.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Planic, Stjepan 1900 births 1980 deaths Architects from Zagreb People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb alumni Vladimir Nazor Award winners Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery 20th-century Croatian architects