Zoran Bojovic ( sr-cyr, Зоран Бојовић; 1936–2018) was a Yugoslav and Serbian architect and engineer who undertook many large scale projects abroad. He is known for his constructions in Nigeria and the Middle East.

Career

Bojovic was born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

. In 1961, he was hired by

Energoprojekt Energoprojekt holding (full legal name: ''Energoprojekt holding Types of business entity#Serbia, a.d. Beograd'') is a Serbian construction company with headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia. Founded in 1951, it enters into the composition of BELEX15 an ...

, a Serbian construction and infrastructure company, where he held a prominent role until his retirement in 1998. As lead architect for the company, he worked in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Known for a modernist approach, his portfolio includes industrial facilities and sports complexes, as well as power plants, large housing complexes and urban public spaces. He produced the plans for the International Fair in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, which was attended by American president

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, and co-designed the State Secretariat in the Nigerian state of

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

with fellow architect

Milica Šterić Milica Šterić ( sr-Cyrl, Милица Штерић; 1914–1998) was a Serbian architect who worked at Energoprojekt for many years, founding and heading its architecture department. She is also responsible for many of the power plants built in ...

. He is also responsible for the overall urban planning of seven cities in Kanou. Additionally, he worked in Iraq and built

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

's Al Qulaf Housing and Business Center. Bojovic had to address every aspect of his projects, including hydro-power, nuclear energy and aerodynamics. Regarding the design of the triad aerodynamic tunnel in

Žarkovo Žarkovo ( sr-Cyrl, Жарково, ) is an List of Belgrade neighborhoods, urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica. Location and divisions Žarkovo (Greater Žarkovo) is one of the most po ...

, he ended up modifying the machinery to reduce pressure and noise, thus resulting in a better constructed tunnel. Bojovic credits his father, a mechanical engineer, for his interest in the technical sciences. Bojovic belonged to the "Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia", the "Academy of Architecture of Serbia", the " Applied Artists and Designers Association of Serbia", and the "Serbian Chamber of Engineers".

Awards and distinctions

Bojovic was the recipient of several awards, such as the "Special Award" at the 1984 Belgrade Architecture Salon. The following year, he received the "Belgrade Jubilee Medal" for his architectural contributions to the city. At the second Belgrade Triennial of World Architecture, he was ranked as one of the city's twelve prominent architects. He also won the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Serbian Chamber of Engineers in 2013. Bojovic was the subject of a 2012 exhibition held at Belgrade's

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai ...

that examined

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

's influence on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n construction. The exhibit also became the focus of a Phd thesis written by architectural researcher

Dubravka Sekulić Dubravka Sekulić (Serbian Cyrillic: Дубравка Секулић) is a professor, author and architect. Since 2016, she has taught at the "Institute of Contemporary Art", which is part of the Graz University of Technology in Austria. She is ...

. Along with other Yugoslav architectural works, Bojovic's African constructions will be highlighted in a 2018 exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) called "Towards Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948-1980".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bojovic, Zoran 1936 births 2018 deaths University of Belgrade alumni Serbian architects 20th-century Serbian engineers Yugoslav architects Architects from Belgrade